Abstract
The plasmodiophorid pathogen Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea causes powdery scab disease of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), which severely affects tuber quality. Adequate chemical control of the disease is lacking, so breeding resistant potato cultivars is important. Little is known about the mechanisms or genetics of host resistance, as the epidemiology of the pathogen makes research on the disease difficult. An environmentally controlled disease screen that allows the accurate and repeatable assessment of diseased tubers (rather than a ranking system) is required to study host resistance in more detail. A high-throughput greenhouse disease assay is described that has been used to assess varying levels of tuber disease resistance of potato genotypes for three consecutive Southern Hemisphere growing seasons (2001–2002, 2002–2003, 2003–2004). This assay allows the evaluation of symptoms on tubers to verify resistance, rather than inferring the tuber infection on the basis of root galling or zoosporangial root infection. The assay was used to determine the level of resistance of genotypes of both known and unknown resistance status. The assay clearly distinguished the susceptible and resistant standards, and the results were highly correlated over the three seasons. The most efficient ways of assessing tuber disease susceptibility of genotypes are discussed. The consistency of the results and the ability to screen many genotypes confirms the value of the assay as a tool for early-generation selection in a plant breeding programme.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bus CB (2000) Powdery scab control in the Netherlands. In: Merz U, Lees AK (eds) Proceedings of the First European Powdery Scab Workshop, pp 45–48
Braithwaite M, Falloon RE, Genet RA, Wallace AR, Fletcher JD, Braam WF (1994) Control of powdery scab of potatoes with chemical seed tuber treatments. N Z J Crop Hortic Sci 22:121–128
de Boer RF (1991) Evaluation of potato cultivars in the glasshouse and field for resistance to powdery scab. Aust J Exp Agric 31:699–703. doi:10.1071/EA9910699
Falloon RE, Viljanen-Rollinson SLH, Coles GD, Poff JD (1995) Disease severity keys for powdery and downy mildews of pea, and powdery scab of potato. N Z J Crop Hortic Sci 23:31–37
Falloon RE, Genet RA, Wallace AR, Butler RC (2003) Susceptibility of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars to powdery scab (caused by Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea), and relationships between tuber and root infection. Australasian Plant Pathol 32:377–385. doi:10.1071/AP03040
Gans PT, Vaughan JE (2000) Cultivar susceptibility to powdery scab of potatoes, caused by Spongospora subterranea. In: Merz U, Lees AK (eds) Proceedings of the First European Powdery Scab Workshop, pp 39–42
GenStat Committee (2003) GenStat release 7.1 reference manual, parts 1–3. VSN International, Oxford
Harrison JG, Searle RJ, Williams NA (1997) Powdery scab disease of potato—a review. Plant Pathol 46:1–25. doi:10.1046/j.1365–3059.1997.d01–214.x
Hughes IK (1980) Powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea) of potatoes in Queensland: occurrence, cultivar susceptibility, time of infection, effect of soil pH, chemical control and temperature relations. Aust J Exp Agric Anim Husb 20:625–632. doi:10.1071/EA9800625
Jellis GJ, Phul PS, Starling NC (1987) Evaluation of potato germplasm for resistance to powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea). Tests of agrochemicals and cultivars no. 8. Ann Appl Biol 110(Suppl):154–155
Kirkham RP (1986) Screening for resistance to powdery scab disease of potatoes. Aust J Exp Agric 26:245–247. doi:10.1071/EA9860245
Lees AK (2000) Resistance to powdery scab in potato. In: Merz U, Lees AK (eds) Proceedings of the First European Powdery Scab Workshop, pp 35–38
Merz U (2000) Powdery scab. Research in Switzerland. In: Merz U, Lees AK (eds) Proceedings of the First European Powdery Scab Workshop, pp 67–71
Merz U, Martinez V, Schwärzel R (2004) The potential for the rapid screening of potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum) for resistance to powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea) using a laboratory bioassay. Eur J Plant Pathol 110:71–77. doi:10.1023/B:EJPP.0000010123.21255.d1
van de Graaf P, Lees AK, Wale SJ, Duncan JM (2005) Effect of soil inoculum level and environmental factors on potato powdery scab caused by Spongospora subterranea. Plant Pathol 54:22–28. doi:10.1111/j.1365–3059.2005.01111.x
Wale SJ (2005) British Society for Plant Pathology Presidential Address 2004. The science of appliance. Plant Pathol 54:715–722. doi:10.1111/j.1365–3059.2005.01287.x
Wastie RL (1991) Resistance to powdery scab of seedling progenies of Solanum tuberosum. Potato Res 34:249–252. doi:10.1007/BF02360497
Wastie RL, Caligari PDS, Wale SJ (1988) Assessing the resistance of potatoes to powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea (Wallr.) Lagerh). Potato Res 31:167–171. doi:10.1007/BF02360034
Whitaker D, Williams ER, John JA (2002) CycDesign 2.0. A package for the computer generation of experimental designs. CSIRO Forestry Products, Kingston
Acknowledgements
We thank John Marshall and Farhat Shah for help with the disease screen and preparation of inoculum, and Richard Falloon for stimulating discussions. This research was funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (New Zealand) and the Potato Sector of Horticulture New Zealand.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baldwin, S.J., Genet, R.A., Butler, R.C. et al. A Greenhouse Assay for Powdery Scab (Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea) Resistance in Potato. Potato Res. 51, 163–173 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-008-9100-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-008-9100-7