Mechanical Transmission of Potato Virus Y in Potato Due to Seed Cutting Is Not a Contributing Factor to Increased Virus in Field Production

Abstract

Potato virus Y (PVY) infects a wide host range. Commercial potato growers continue to express concern that cutting seed may move PVY from infected seed to healthy ones and lead to increased incidence of PVY in the field. However, the bulk of the literature suggests such movement is of little to no importance. Here, we present an overview of the literature relating to the movement of PVY via seed cutting and two experiments that add to the existing knowledge. In a controlled greenhouse experiment, a knife used to cut PVY-infected tubers did not appear to transmit the virus to subsequent cut tubers, and in a controlled small-plot field experiment, the proportion of PVY in small whole seed potatoes did not differ from that of cut seed from the same seed lots of potato cultivars Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet ( P = 0.2466). Our research results corroborate those of others in that cutting seed poses little risk of moving PVY. With respect to PVY management, we recommend that growers continue to use the type of seed, whether cut seed pieces or whole tubers, best suited for their operations.