Abstract
In this study, the influence of potato cultivars Irga, Satina, Valfi, Blaue St. Galler and Highland Burgundy Red (HB Red), growth regulators: Bio-Algeen S‑90, Kelpak SL and Trifender WP, and the biostimulator Asahi SL on the health status of potato plants and tuber yield was investigated. The severity of late blight and early blight was estimated during the growing season. After harvest, potato tuber yield was determined according to size fractions. The applied treatments significantly reduced the severity of late blight in cv. Irga (Kelpak SL), Valfi (Bio-Algeen S-90, Kelpak SL, Trifender WP) and Blaue St. Galler (Trifender WP) in 2013. In 2015, the symptoms of early blight were significantly reduced in cv. Irga after the application of all tested bioregulators. HB Red was characterized by the best health status among the evaluated cultivars. Kelpak SL and Bio-Algeen S-90 increased the tuber yield of cvs. Irga and HB Red, respectively, in 2013, and Trifender WP increased the tuber yield of cv. Satina in 2014. In the first year of the study, the applied growth regulators and biostimulator significantly increased the percentage of medium-sized tubers of cv. Blaue St. Galler, and Bio-Algeen S-90 increased the percentage of medium-sized tubers of cv. HB Red.
Highlights
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is the most devastating disease in potato farms during the growing season (Fry 2008; Bradeen et al 2009; Chmielarz et al 2014; Mosquera et al 2016)
The incidence of early blight caused by Alternaria alternata and A. solani is on the rise, and A. alternata is the prevalent species in the temperate climate (Gudmestad and Pasche 2007; Kapsa 2007)
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a biostimulator (Asahi SL) and growth regulators (Bio-Algeen S-90, Kelpak SL, Trifender WP) on the severity of late blight and early blight in potato cultivars with differently colored flesh, tuber yield and yield components
Summary
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is the most devastating disease in potato farms during the growing season (Fry 2008; Bradeen et al 2009; Chmielarz et al 2014; Mosquera et al 2016). The pathogen can significantly lower yields, and late blight epidemics can result in the destruction of entire harvests. In Poland, the losses in unprotected potato farms are much higher than in other countries and are estimated at 21–57%. The above can be attributed to the fact that potatoes are a major crop in Poland and that the Polish climate creates favorable conditions for the development of P. infestans (Kapsa 2005). In many regions of the world, the increase in the incidence of early blight can be attributed to climate change and global warming (Hausladen and Leiminger 2007). Yield losses caused by early blight are generally estimated at 20%, but they can reach 70–80% in unprotected potato farms (Soleimani and Kirk 2012). Potato cultivars with colored flesh contain 2 to 10 times more phenolic acids than traditional cultivars with yellow flesh (Brown 2005; Hamouz et al 2010; Ezekiel et al 2013; Bellumori et al 2017), and they are more resistant to stressors, including pathogens (Tierno and Ruiz de Galarreta 2016). Dixon (2001), Mandal et al (2010) and Terry et al (2014) demonstrated that phenolic compounds participate in defense responses in plants exposed to pathogens
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