Seed Potato Tubers Research Articles

Population Structure of Phytophthora infestans in Israel Changes Frequently Due to the Import of Asymptomatic Late Blight-Infected Potato Seed Tubers from Europe.

Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is a devastating disease of potato worldwide. In Israel, potatoes are grown twice a year, in autumn and spring, with late blight causing extensive damage in both seasons. While tuber seeds for the autumn planting are produced locally, seed tubers for the spring planting are imported from Europe due to dormancy of local tubers. Here, we demonstrate that seed tubers imported from Europe for the spring season carry asymptomatic infection with EU genotypes of P. infestans, which alters the population structure of the pathogen each spring. The proportion of imported tubers carrying asymptomatic infections ranged between 1.2 and 3.75%, varying by year and cultivar. Asymptomatic tubers produced late blight-infected sprouts about one month after planting. The sporangia produced on these sprouts served as primary inoculum, causing intensive foliage attacks on neighboring plants. When sprout-infected plants were uprooted and the mother tuber was washed, sliced, and placed in moistened dishes at 18 °C, profuse sporulation of P. infestans developed on the slices' surfaces within 1-2 days. The dominant genotype of P. infestans in the autumn season in Israel is 23A1, but genotypes in the following spring season changed to include 13A2 or 36A2. Surprisingly, genotype 43A1, which might be resistant to CAA and OSBPI fungicides and appeared in Europe in 2022, emerged in Israel in spring 2024. The immigrating genotypes do not persist in the country, allowing 23A1 to regain predominance in the following autumn. Long-term monitoring data suggest that the population structure of P. infestans changes yearly but temporarily due to the import of new genotypes from Europe.

Unintended sprouts as additional resource for pathogen-free seed potato (Solanum tuberosum) propagation

AbstractUnintended sprouting of potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) occurs within the professional production chain during transportation or storage due to the break of dormancy by changing environmental conditions. The sprouting of high-quality seed potatoes, for example, results in huge amounts of sprouts which complicate the planting process and are, therefore, manually removed and discarded. However, such sprouts can be very useful and sustainable when used as propagation material, helping to avoid losses of seed potatoes and increasing productivity per individual seed potato tuber.

Metagenomic analysis of endophytic bacteria in seed potato (Solanum tuberosum).

To date, the association of potato tuber microbiota is poorly understood. In this study, the endophytic bacterial flora of seed potato tubers was identified and the diversity of healthy and unhealthy tubers was compared. Metagenomic DNA extracted from healthy and unhealthy samples of seed potato tubers was used for the analysis of microbial communities. Next generation sequencing of the ∼460 bp v3-v4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was carried out using the Illumina Miseq platform. The data were analysed using the Divisive Amplicon Denoising Algorithm 2 pipeline. Sequence analysis of the potato metagenome identified amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) assigned to 745 different taxa belonging to eight Phyla: Firmicutes (46.2%), Proteobacteria (36.9%), Bacteroidetes (1.8%), Actinobacteria (0.1%), Tenericutes (0.005%), Saccharibacteria (0.003%), Verrucomicrobiota (0.003%), and Acidobacteria (0.001%). In healthy seed potato tubers, 55-99% of ASVs belonged to Firmicutes, including Bacillus, Salinibacillus, Staphylococcus, Lysinibacillus, Paenibacillus, and Brevibacillus genera within the taxonomic order Bacillales. However, in the visually unhealthy tubers, only 0.5-3.9% of ASVs belonged to Firmicutes while 84.1-97% of ASVs belonged to Proteobacteria. This study highlights that diverse bacterial communities colonize potato tubers, which contributes to the understanding of plant-microbe interactions and underscores the significance of metagenomic approaches in agricultural research.

Physiological Age of Potato Seed Tubers of Contrasting Cultivars Hardly Affects Crop Performance in a Temperate Climate

AbstractThe physiological age of potato seed tubers influences the subsequent field performance of the crop, conditioning its growth and development. This study investigates the effects of the physiological age of seed tubers on the field performance of four contrasting, currently widely grown cultivars (Agria, Festien, Innovator, Lady Claire) across three sites in the Netherlands over 3 years (Cycles 1—3). Seed tubers were produced annually at a single site under uniform conditions, with variations in physiological age induced by applying different storage temperatures (4, 7, 10, and/or 17 °C). Our previous study revealed varying effects of storage temperature on sprouting behaviour among cultivars, suggesting different rates of ageing. After completing the storage season, in the current study these seed tubers were planted in the field and subsequent crop performance was thoroughly phenotyped. Cultivar-specific effects of storage temperature were evident during early growth stages and when seed tubers were stored at 17 °C in Cycle 3. However, within the storage temperature range of 4 to 10 °C, the influence of storage temperatures was small or inconsistent. Overall, effects on canopy cover, stem and tuber number, yield and quality, and tuber yield explanatory variables were limited. The outcomes suggest that while very high storage temperatures should be avoided in regions with long crop cycles, stringent cold storage regimes are unnecessary to achieve optimal growth vigour in potato seed tubers of the studied cultivars in a temperate climate.

Effect of Light Quality on Seed Potato (Solanum tuberose L.) Tuberization When Aeroponically Grown in a Controlled Greenhouse.

A plant factory equipped with artificial lights is a comparatively new concept when growing seed potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) for minituber production. The shortage of disease-free potato seed tubers is a key challenge to producing quality potatoes. Quality seed tuber production all year round in a controlled environment under an artificial light condition was the main purpose of this study. The present study was conducted in a plant factory to investigate the effects of distinct spectrum compositions of LEDs on potato tuberization when grown in an aeroponic system. The study was equipped with eight LED light combinations: L1 = red: blue: green (70 + 25 + 5), L2 = red: blue: green (70 + 20 + 10), L3 = red: blue: green (70 + 15 + 15), L4 = red: blue: green (70 + 10 + 20), L5 = red: blue: far-red (70 + 25 + 5), L6 = red: blue: far-red (70 + 20 + 10), L7 = red: blue: far-red (70 + 15 + 15), L8 = red: blue: far-red (70 + 10 + 20), and L9 = natural light with 300 µmol m-2 s-1 of irradiance, 16/8 h day/night, 65% relative humidity, while natural light was used as the control treatment. According to the findings, treatment L4 recorded a higher tuber number (31/plant), tuber size (>3 g); (9.26 ± 3.01), and GA3 content, along with better plant growth characteristics. Moreover, treatment L4 recorded a significantly increased trend in the stem diameter (11.08 ± 0.25), leaf number (25.32 ± 1.2), leaf width (19 ± 0.81), root length (49 ± 2.1), and stolon length (49.62 ± 2.05) compared to the control (L9). However, the L9 treatment showed the best performance in plant fresh weight (67.16 ± 4.06 g) and plant dry weight (4.46 ± 0.08 g). In addition, photosynthetic pigments (Chl a) (0.096 ± 0.00 mg g-1, 0.093 ± 0.00 mg g-1) were found to be the highest in the L1 and L2 treatments, respectively. However, Chl b and TCL recorded the best results in treatment L4. Finally, with consideration of the plant growth and tuber yield performance, treatment L4 was found to have the best spectral composition to grow quality seed potato tubers.

Effect of Gamma-Irradiation Dose on the Yield and Acute Toxicity of Seed Potato Tubers of the Meteor Variety

Effect of Gamma-Irradiation Dose on the Yield and Acute Toxicity of Seed Potato Tubers of the Meteor Variety

Effect of Gamma-Irradiation Dose on the Yield and Acute Toxicity of Seed Potato Tubers of the Meteor Variety

The influence of the dose of presowing γ-irradiation of tubers on the anatomical and morphological structure, yield, and tasting properties of potatoes of the Meteor variety has been studied. Morphological disorders—beak-shaped and heart-shaped tubers of a large fraction and small tubers in the form of embryos—were found in potatoes grown from tubers irradiated with doses of 500–600 Gy, although no external anatomical and morphological differences were noted in the stems and leaves of potato plants in the course of the vegetative development regardless of the presowing irradiation dose of tubers. Irradiation of seed tubers with doses of 200–300 Gy led to the highest yield and profitability and the best tasting qualities of grown potatoes. Experiments on the toxicity of potato tubers irradiated with doses of 100–1500 kGy and juice released during their radiolysis with doses of 1200–5000 kGy showed no negative effect on the animals that consumed them. At the same time, the physiological processes of digestion, excretion, and metabolism in experimental animals were not inhibited and the level of glucose in their blood remained within physiological reference values. The experimentally established highest doses of γ-irradiation of potatoes and the doses of introducing aqueous dispersions of the irradiated products into mice (gram of substance per 1 kg of live weight of the animal) that did not cause clinical manifestations were 10 g/kg for powdered potato tubers irradiated with a dose of 1500 kGy and 20 g/kg for dried juice powder released in the course of irradiation of potato tubers with a dose of 2000 kGy.

Prevalence of potato cyst (Globodera spp.) nematode and potato root-knot (Meloidogyne spp.) nematode in Kenya and potential management strategies: A review

Nematodes are very diverse and could be free-living or plant parasite species. Amongst the existing categories, the most aggressive ones are the root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus spp.), root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.), and cyst nematode (Globodera spp.). These categories affect over 2000 susceptible crop species causing varying yield losses, reaching 100% under heavy infestations in potatoes. The common root-knot nematode and cyst nematode hosts include tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum), eggplant (Solanum melongena), and other solanaceous plants, including Physalis spp., Datura spp., Hyoscyamus spp., Physoclaina spp., Salpiglossis spp., and Saracha spp. These nematodes are disseminated mainly through irrigation water, rainfall runoffs, infested soil particles, commercial seed potato tubers, contaminated footwear, animal hooves, farm implements, and machinery. Effective control of nematodes requires farmers to practice integrated nematode management systems with a combination of at least two management practices. Several cultural and agronomic practices have shown some decent levels of efficacy, thus recommended for adoption. Timely application of these practices is critical for achieving better outcomes. Among the management strategies, applying nematicides is the most effective in the short term. It is important to be cautious when using these chemicals, as they pose significant risks to humans and the environment. Again, these products are costly, especially those within moderate to low toxicity, making them unsustainable and out of reach for most small-scale farmers.

Production of disease free seed potato tuber through optimization of planting and haulm pulling time

The time for planting and haulm pulling is very crucial for production of quality of seed potato tuber. Thus, the different planting times i.e., 15th October, 4th November, 24th November, and 14th December, and haulm pulling (HP) at 68, 75, 82, and 89 days after planting (DAP) were evaluated to find out the suitable planting time and haulm pulling time for disease-free potato seed production. This study was conducted in the research field of the Plant Pathology Department, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur during 2016-2017. The maximum seed potato tuber yield (23.9 ton/ha) was recorded from 4th November planting time with haulm pulling at 82 days after planting. The findings also exhibited that the minimum disease infestation was observed in the same treatment combinations which enhanced the maximum photosynthesis and growth for the plants resulting in higher seed potato yield. Farmers of subtropical regions would be benefitted if they practice these methods. Bangladesh J. Agri. 2023, 48(1): 19-39

Yield of seed potatoes and rhizoctonia infestation of tubers depending on the application of different treatment methods

Aim. Study the effect of Rise P® biological product, pesticide Celest Top, fungicide Quadrison on the growth, development, productivity and infestation of seed potato tubers with rhizoctonia. Methods. Field, measuring, weight, statistical. Results. Scientific studies have established the effectiveness of Rise P® biological product (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (strain IT45)), pesticide Celest Top, fungicide Quadris for seed potatoes growing. The yield of seed potato of Skarbnytsia variety of superelite class in the variant with the treatment of planting material with Rise P® (450 g/t) increased by 3.3 t/ha or 8.9%. The combination of treatment of tubers with Rise P® and pesticide Celeste Top (0.7 l/t) contributed to an increase in potato yield relative to the control variant by 3.7 t/ha (9.9%), relative to the variant with the application of the pesticide of chemical origin – Celest Top, an increase in yield by 1.8 t/ha or 4.8% was observed. Application of Celest Top + Quadris (3.0 l/ha) provided an increase in yield to the control variant by 2.5 t/ha (6.7%). The treatment with tank mixtures of Celest Top + Rise P® + Quadris resulted in a yield increase of 4.0 t/ha (10.8%) compared to the control variant. Conclusions. The application of Rise P® biological product contributed to the growth of the overall yield and productivity of the basic seed potatoes of Skarbnytsia variety and reduction of tuber damage by rhizoctonia. Treatment of potato planting material with Rise P® biological product at the application rate of 450 g/t provided 4.3% of weakly affected tubers and 1.3% of tubers with a surface covering more than 10%, with infestation on the control variant without treatment of tubers with weak damage 14.0% and with a strong damage – 6.7%, which meets the norms of national legislation – “Methodological requirements in the field of seed production to preserve the varietal and sowing qualities of seed potatoes”, the order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine of July 12, 2019 No. 384. The permissible degree of tuber infection by Rhizoctonia (for tuber surface infestation over 10%) is 5.0%.

Screening and Identification of Potato StSPS1, a Potential Crucial Gene Regulating Seed Potato Vigor

Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), a crucial rate-limiting enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of precursors of sucrose, plays an indispensable role in the regulation of seed potato vigor. Nonetheless, the genes that encode SPS in potato have not undergone complete analysis, and the primary genes responsible for the regulation of seed potato vigor have not been screened and identified. In this study, four StSPS family members were identified by comparing the potato genome database with homologous proteins. Using bioinformatics, the physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, sequence structure, conserved motifs, and phylogenetics of StSPS were analyzed. The expression levels of StSPS in different potato tissues, from dormancy to sprouting in the seed potato tubers, were measured via qRT-PCR. The expression data from the potato genome database and previous transcriptome and proteome studies of dormancy to sprouting were also compared. After combining the analysis of SPS enzyme activity in diverse tuber tissues and the correlation analysis between multiple varieties with different dormancy periods and the expression of StSPS1, the primary gene StSPS1 that might regulate seed potato vigor was identified. This study set a theoretical and experimental groundwork for further verification and clarification of the regulatory function of StSPS1 in alterations in seed potato vigor.

Efficacy of Soft-Rot Disease Biocontrol Agents in the Inhibition of Production Field Pathogen Isolates

The Dickeya and Pectobacterium bacterial species cause blackleg and soft-rot diseases on potato plants and tubers. Prophylactic actions are essential to conserve a high quality of seed potato tubers. Biocontrol approaches are emerging, but we need to know how efficient biocontrol agents are when facing the natural diversity of pathogens. In this work, we sampled 16 production fields, which were excluded from the seed tuber certification scheme, as well as seven experimental parcels, which were planted with seed tubers from those production fields. We collected and characterized 669 Dickeya and Pectobacterium isolates, all characterized using nucleotide sequence of the gapA gene. This deep sampling effort highlighted eleven Dickeya and Pectobacterium species, including four dominant species namely D. solani, D. dianthicola, P. atrosepticum and P. parmentieri. Variations in the relative abundance of pathogens revealed different diversity patterns at a field or parcel level. The Dickeya-enriched patterns were maintained in parcels planted with rejected seed tubers, suggesting a vertical transmission of the pathogen consortium. Then, we retained 41 isolates representing the observed species diversity of pathogens and we tested each of them against six biocontrol agents. From this work, we confirmed the importance of prophylactic actions to discard contaminated seed tubers. We also identified a couple of biocontrol agents of the Pseudomonas genus that were efficient against a wide range of pathogen species.

Emerging pattern of Viral Diseases in a high Andean Microregion (Bolivia) producing potato seed-tubers

A new pattern of potato viral disease would appear to be emerging in this high Andean region, perhaps attributable to the gradual change in the varieties being cultivated, and to new possibilities of transmission and dissemination modes associated with changes in cultivation practices.

Detection of RNA viruses in potato seed-tubers from northern Antioquia (Colombia)

Detection of RNA viruses in potato seed-tubers from northern Antioquia (Colombia)

Metabolites Composition of Bacillus subtilis HussainT-AMU Determined by LC-MS and Their Effect on Fusarium Dry Rot of Potato Seed Tuber

Fusarium dry rot is considered to be the most critical soilborne and postharvest disease that damages potato tubers worldwide when they are stored for a long time. This study was performed to demonstrate the effect of crude extract, culture filtrate, and cell suspension obtained from the bacterium Bacillus subtilis HussainT-AMU, on the net house and field. From oil-contaminated soil, through the serial dilution method, biosurfactant bacteria were isolated on nutrient agar medium. To isolate and screen the prospective biosurfactant strain, various biosurfactant screening methods were used. Standard protocols were carried out for morphological, molecular, and chemical characterization. The disease incidences were significantly decreased under net house and field conditions after treatment with biosurfactant extract (20%, 70%), culture filtrate (23%, 49%), and bacterial cell suspension (46%, 27%), respectively. These results indicate a significant effect of B. subtilis HussainT-AMU against Fusarium oxysporum. The characterization of the partially purified extract by gas-chromatography indicated the existence of a high amount of methyl ester fatty acids. The quantitative analysis determined the presence of lipopeptide-surfactin, fengycin, and iturin in the biosurfactant extract. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that morphological variation was revealed in the structure of stomata size in leaves and in the mycelia of the pathogen that was investigated. This promising biocontrol agent can be a plausible option for further research and can also be used for the production of green biomolecules at an additional industrial level.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A BIOINFORMATICS PIPELINE FOR THE DETECTION OF PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

Next-generation sequencing-based methods using partial 16S rRNA gene amplicons are extensively applied today in studies of the plant metagenomes. NGS sequencing creates huge sets of raw data making analysis a challenging task. Lack of computational and bioinformatics knowledge and tools for analyzing high throughput data to interpret correct biological variations is a major problem. In addition, downstream analysis of NGS data with the available bioinformatics platforms create various challenges in inferring microbial composition. The available commercial software are expensive and individual opensource tools are usually operate stand alone as they are not combined for a user-friendly workflow. Therefore, beginners in bioinformatics might find analysis procedures are complicated, expensive, and timeconsuming with the associated learning. In the present study, a bioinformatics pipeline is developed to analyze the 16S rDNA amplicons of plant metagenome. Microbial DNA was extracted from imported seed potato tubers. Extracted DNA was sequenced using Ion Torrent Next Generation Sequencing technology by amplifying 400 bp V1-V2 region of 16S rRNA gene for the detection of bacterial pathogens. The pipeline was built by stringing together many command line tools; Quality checking of raw fastq data using FastQC, trimming of low-quality data with Trimmomatric, alignment of trimmed data using the BWA-MEM algorithm, removal of duplicate reads with Picard Mark Duplicates tool and finally generation of the phylogenetic tree and taxonomic profile with MEGAN 5. The developed pipeline was used to analyze the 16S rRNA next generation sequences and the reliability of the results has been checked with the use of mock communities for validation. The pipeline often can be executed on laptop sized machines to obtain the output in a couple of hours enabling easy access for the researchers.

Occurrence, identification, and host range of Pectobacterium brasiliense causing soft rot on seed potato tubers in Turkey

Occurrence, identification, and host range of Pectobacterium brasiliense causing soft rot on seed potato tubers in Turkey

Effect of Presprouting Plant Growth Regulators and Natural Materials on Dormancy, Growth, and Yield of Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Irish potatoes are amongst the most highly grown and demanded crops in Kenya for food, industrial starch, and animal feed. Farmers, however, face a serious challenge regarding the timely availability of well-sprouted seed potato tubers due to the physiological seed dormancy period of 2–3 months, thereby reducing production cycles. This study determined the effects of different chitting methods on enhancing the presprouting of different potato varieties in Kenya. Plant growth regulators (PGR) (Gibberellins (GA3), 6-Benzylaminopurine, and Zeatin) and natural materials (grass, banana leaves, and soil) were evaluated for their effects in breaking dormancy and stimulating the growth of sprouts under greenhouse conditions in a complete randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The evaluation of the presprouted seed in the field was conducted at Egerton University and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Molo, in a split-plot design for two seasons. Data was taken on crop emergence, length, thickness, and colour of sprouts, plant height, tubers per plant, tuber thickness, and tuber yield. Data were subjected to a general linear model to partition the variance component using SAS software version 9.13, and means were separated using the least significant difference ( p ≤ 0.05 ). There were significant ( p ≤ 0.05 ) main effects on the prespouting time, growth, and yield of tubers. The interaction effects due to variety and treatment were also significant ( p ≤ 0.05 ) for sprout thickness. Natural materials produced the most vigorous sprouts, increased crop emergence, plant height, and superior tuber yield. Natural materials and PGRs increased tuber size for chitted potato seed by 261% and 103%, respectively. Control treatments had a significantly higher frequency of small-sized tubers than natural materials and PGRs, proving the importance of chitting in increasing tuber size and yields. Natural materials increased sprout quality (thickness and length) better than PRGs and control treatments. This study showed that small-holder farmers could adopt the use of readily available soil, grass, and banana leaves while large-scale growers, with access to better facilities, could use PGRs to break tuber dormancy for increased potato tuber yield.

Indexing of RNA viruses in certified and uncertified potato seed-tubers from Solanum tuberosum cv. Diacol Capiro, and S. phureja cv. Criolla Colombia: a pilot study

The productivity of potato in Colombia is below its potential due to continued agronomical malpractices that have resulted in a high prevalence of pathogens, particularly viruses. This work presents a pilot virus seed-indexing study using the tuber sprouting test (TST) with RT-qPCR. TST was performed in certified and uncertified seed-tuber lots of potato cultivars: Diacol Capiro and Criolla Colombia. Results indicate that PYVV and PMTV are highly prevalent in all seed lots from both cultivars; PLRV, PVY, and PVB are highly prevalent in cv. Diacol Capiro, but mostly absent in cv. Criolla Colombia; PVV is almost exclusively found in cv. Criolla Colombia; while PVS and PVX are found at low prevalence in cv. Diacol Capiro. Multiple infections were common in both cultivars, and no uninfected tubers were identified. The effect of virus distribution on testing was also investigated, and a preliminary sampling method for certification of seed lots is proposed.

Alternative methods of seed potato (Solanum tuberosum) production: Indian perspective — A review

Quality seed is a major and important input in potato cultivation. Due to vegetative propagation in potato, requirement of seed potato tubers is voluminous, accounting for 50 to 70% of the total cost of potato production. The productivity of potato in many countries is low, primarily due to either non-availability or inadequacy of quality seed potato. The alternative methods of seed potato production will not only help in bridging the gaps in demand but also assist in overcoming the problems that are inherently associated with the conventional multiplication system of potato. The information are meagre on these aspects.Therefore, an overview on seed potato and potato seed production via different alternative methods namely tuber sprout technique, synthetic seeds, true potato seeds, micro-propagation, bioreactor technology, hydroponic system, aeroponic system, techni-tubers, apical rooted cuttings, little tubers and utilization of under-sized tubers (left in the field) is presented. Different aspects like, present scenario, significance, feasibility and practicability are being covered. Efforts that have been made to achieve a balance between use of quality seed potatoes via conventional and different alternative methods togethigher production and productivity of potato are covered here. Issues of higher occupancy of potato in cold storage space due to storage of conventional seed potatoes and how this can be reduced by enhancing the use of alternative methods with more effective and diversified utilization of cold storage space are also discussed.