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The Effect of Long Term Storage on Bacterial Soft Rot Resistance in Potato

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Abstract

Bacterial soft rot is a serious disease in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), causing rapid tuber tissue maceration and, consequently, marketable yield loss. Soft rot bacteria, including Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pbc), are favored by moist conditions, which are prevalent in large potato storage facilities. However, although most potatoes in North America are stored before use, there are no published surveys of soft rot resistance in cultivars exposed to long-term storage conditions. Thus, we tested 65 cultivars and 13 breeding lines for soft rot resistance after 6 months of storage. There was a significant effect of cultivar and production environment on soft rot resistance score. During 6 months of storage, tuber soft rot resistance in resistant clones did not change, while it changed in susceptible clones. The three most resistant cultivars to soft rot were Freedom Russet, Anett, and Alaska Red Eye.

Resumen

La pudrición blanda bacteriana es una enfermedad seria en papa (Solanum tuberosum L.), causando una maceración rápida del tejido del tubérculo, y consecuentemente, pérdida en rendimiento comercial. Las bacterias de la pudrición blanda, incluyendo Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. Carotovorum (Pbc), son favorecidas por condiciones húmedas, que son prevalecientes en grandes instalaciones de almacenamiento de papa. No obstante, aun cuando la mayor parte de las papas en Norteamérica se almacenan antes de su uso, no hay estudios publicados de resistencia a la pudrición blanda en variedades expuestas a condiciones de almacenamiento por largo tiempo. De aquí que probamos 65 variedades y 13 líneas de mejoramiento para resistencia a la pudrición blanda después de seis meses de almacenamiento. Hubo un efecto significativo de variedad y de ambiente de producción en la calificación de resistencia a la pudrición blanda. Durante seis meses de almacenamiento, la resistencia del tubérculo a la pudrición blanda en clones resistentes no cambió, mientras que sí cambió en clones susceptibles. Las tres variedades más resistentes a la pudrición blanda fueron Freedom Russet, Anett, y Alaska Red Eye.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Emily Heenan for assisting with disease screening and Andy Hamernik for providing the tubers for this study. Partial funding was provided by USDA-NRI Grant 2009-55605-05219.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, 1575 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Yong Suk Chung & Shelley Jansky

  2. Alsum Farms and Produce, Inc., Arena, WI, 53503, USA

    Nicholas J. Goeser

  3. College of Horticulture and Forestry, Huazhong Agricultural University Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China

    Xingkui Cai

  4. USDA-Agricultural Research Service, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Shelley Jansky

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  1. Yong Suk Chung
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  2. Nicholas J. Goeser
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  3. Xingkui Cai
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  4. Shelley Jansky
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Correspondence to Shelley Jansky.

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Chung, Y.S., Goeser, N.J., Cai, X. et al. The Effect of Long Term Storage on Bacterial Soft Rot Resistance in Potato. Am. J. Potato Res. 90, 351–356 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-013-9311-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-013-9311-6

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