Abstract

Among isolates of Rhizoctonia solani Kühn collected as sclerotia from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers harvested from the Toluca Valley in 1995 was one isolate (MexND) of anastomosis group 7 (AG-7). Virulence of this and other isolates of R. solani representing AG-3 (four isolates) or AG-7 (four isolates), was determined on developing potato plants (cv. Russet Burbank) in growth chamber studies at 10 and 21°C by methods used previously (1). A control treatment was inoculated with sterile disks of potato dextrose agar (PDA). Seed tubers were placed on a layer of pasturized sand-soil mix near the bottom of 6- × 25-cm black plastic tubes, then covered with 2 to 3 cm of the sand-soil mix. Seed tubers used in virulence tests carried no R. solani as they had been surface disinfested by immersing for 2 min in a 1.85% solution of formaldehyde. Inoculum, in the form of one 7-mm agar disk cut from the growing edge of appropriate colonies growing on PDA, was placed 2 to 3 cm above the seed and covered with 7 to 10 cm of sand-soil mix (1). Each treatment had five replications. Plants were harvested after control plants had emerged, 29 days at 21°C and 36 days at 10°C, and damage to roots and shoots was assessed according to Carling and Leiner (1). All four isolates of AG-3, one from the U.S. and three from Mexico, caused major damage to roots and shoots at both temperatures. The two isolates of AG-7 from the U.S. caused superficial discoloration to shoots at both temperatures but the two isolates of AG-7 from Japan caused no damage to shoots. None of the four isolates of AG-7 damaged roots at either temperature. MexND caused no damage to roots or shoots at 21°C but produced lesions (< 1 mm in diameter) on roots and shoots at 10°C. Thus, MexND caused less damage to potato than AG-3, more damage than other isolates of AG-7, and appears more aggressive at lower temperatures. This is the first reported occurrence of R. solani AG-7 in Mexico and its first reported recovery from a potato tuber-borne sclerotium. Reference: (1) D. E. Carling and R. H. Leiner. Phytopathology 80:930, 1990.

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