Abstract
SummaryField trials were done with four cultivars over 3 years to assess the extent to which the amount of late blight on the foliage of a potato plant could be influenced by that on a neighbouring plant of the same or a different cultivar. Drills containing the test plants were interspersed with those of spreader plants (cv. King Edward) which were artificially inoculated with Phytophthora infestans. The intensity of blight on the test plants was recorded on several occasions.Resistant cultivars tended to be scored as less resistant in mixtures with other cultivars than in pure stands, and susceptible cultivars tended likewise to be scored as more resistant in mixed stands. However, standard analysis of variance indicated no systematic evidence of a significant effect due to neighbour cultivars, nor of interaction between cultivars and neighbour cultivars. In contrast, Kempton's (1982) neighbour model indicated a significant and positive interference coefficient (β) in each trial, which generally decreased over time. Predicted pure stand scores for each cultivar indicated that the adjustment was greatest for the most resistant and most susceptible cultivars. There was no advantage in using two‐plant rather than one‐plant plots in withstanding neighbour effects.
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