Contamination byErwinia carotovora of seed potato stocks of stem cutting origin in the process of multiplication

Abstract

Surveys were done in the winters of 1973–4 and 1974–5 of 75 and 78 Scottish potato stocks, respectively, derived from stem cuttings. The results showed that these VTSC stocks were contaminated byErwinia carotovora early in their bulking, most being contaminated, often extensively, by the fifth year of multiplication. Especially in the early years of multiplication, the proportion ofE. carotovora var.carotovora toE. carotovora var.atroseptica was greater than that previously found in commercial stocks not derived from stem cuttings. Contamination levels in VTSC stocks were lower in the north than in the south, and in 1974–5 than in 1973–4. These differences were tentatively explained in terms of higher soil moisture deficits in the north in both years and in all regions in 1974 at a time during the growing season when the bacteria spread from the rotting mother tuber to the daughter tubers.