Late blight (Phytophthora infestans(Mont) De Bary) development from potato seed-pieces treated with fungicides

Abstract

Fungicides were applied as seed-piece treatments to control potato late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, US8, A2 biotype in controlled environment and field experiments. Efficacy of seed treatments for controlling late blight was examined under three disease development regimes simulated by artifical inoculation; (a) seed-borne infection, (b) transmission of infection resulting from spread during the seed-cutting operation, and (c) infection of foliage by aerial inoculation. Emergence of plants from the seed-borne infection was uniformly low (<40%) in controlled environment and field experiments. In controlled environment experiments some of the plants that emerged from fungicide-treated seed-pieces were infected with late blight. Following exposure of tuber surfaces to P infestans, emergence rates from seed-pieces treated with formulated products that included mancozeb in the formulation were comparable to the untreated and non-inoculated control in controlled environment and field experiments. Plants that emerged from non-inoculated seed-pieces treated with fungicides that contained active ingredients known to be effective against foliar late blight had lower percentage foliar infection after inoculation than the untreated control. Leaves close to the base of the stem had fewer infections than leaves attached at the mid region of the main stem, 14 days after inoculation, in some of the controlled environment studies. In contrast, field experiments conducted under conditions conducive to late blight development showed that none of the seed treatments applied to late blight-free seed-pieces delayed the onset and severity of late blight infection. In potato production areas at risk of early season late blight, seed treatments applied to healthy seed may confer limited protection against late blight between planting and the first scheduled applications of prophylactic foliar fungicides. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry