Postharvest Diseases of Potato and Their Management

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a moderately perishable vegetable and suffers from different types postharvest losses during storage and transportation, including biotic stress, which affects quality and quantity of produce. The postharvest diseases of potato are an important constraint in India. The important postharvest diseases of potato are caused by Phytophthora infestans (late blight), P. erythroseptica (pink rot), Fusarium spp. (dry rot), Pythium ultimum (Pythium leak), Helminthosporium solani (silver scurf), Macrophomina phaseolina (charcoal rot) and bacteria such as Ralstonia solanacearum (brown rot), Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, Dickeyachrysanthemi (soft rot and black leg). Most of these diseases occur in the field and show different types of symptoms on the tuber and foliage parts of the plants. These pathogens are both soil and tuber borne. Therefore, occurrence of these diseases is both in the field and during storage. Thus, preharvest practices of disease management play an important role in managing disease during storage and transportation. Postharvest treatment with fungicides in combination with proper storage conditions help in preventing losses as well as maintaining nutritional quality during the storage. Integrated disease management, such as use of resistant cultivars, disease-free tubers, crop rotation with non-solanaceous crops, nutrition management and judicious use of chemicals, are the best options for managing postharvest diseases.