How to Manage Pests

UC Pest Management Guidelines

SYMPTOMS

Soft rot. Symptoms of soft rot include rotted tissues that are wet, cream to tan in color, and soft. Rot begins on the tuber surface and progresses inward. Infected tissues are sharply delineated from healthy tissue by dark brown or black margins. Shallow necrotic spots on the tubers result from infections through lenticels. Rotting tissue is usually odorless in the early stages of decay, but develops a foul odor as secondary organisms invade infected tissue. Soft rot can also infect wounded stems and roots.

Blackleg. Plants with blackleg are stunted and have a stiff, erect growth habit. Foliage becomes chlorotic and the leaflets tend to roll upward at the margins. Plants may wilt. Stems of infected plants exhibit an inky black decay. The base of the stem is often completely rotted. In relatively dry soil, only the pith may show blackening. Tuber symptoms for blackleg are similar to those of soft rot. The soft rot Pectobacterium spp. may cause wilting but affected plants lack the characteristic inky black stem decay.

COMMENTS ON THE DISEASES

Soft rot. Bacteria are present on all tubers and are associated with many kinds of plants. Infections in the field are favored by high soil moisture and high temperatures. Other factors include anaerobic conditions, enlarged lenticels, and invasion by other pathogens. Bacteria enter lenticels, growth cracks, or any injury. During and after harvest, soft rot is favored by immature tubers, adverse temperatures (pulp temperatures above 70°F at harvest), mechanical damage, and free water on tuber surfaces.

Blackleg. Blackleg inoculum comes primarily from infected seed tubers, but it may also be spread in infested soil, contaminated irrigation water, and by insects. Blackleg is favored by cool, wet conditions at planting followed by high temperatures after emergence.

MANAGEMENT

The pathogens that cause these diseases occur wherever potatoes are grown. The severity of the disease depends on seed-handling techniques, soil moisture and temperature at planting, environmental conditions, cultivar, amount of infection in the seed lot used, and external sources of the bacteria such as irrigation water and cull piles.

Cultural Control
Soft rot. Use high quality seed. Split applications of water soluble calcium applied at 100-200 lb/acre during bulking have been shown to reduce infection and severity of soft rot. Harvest mature tubers with well-set skins and avoid mechanical injury. Avoid excessive soil moisture before harvest to reduce lenticel infection; use clean water to wash potatoes; and avoid water films on tuber surfaces during storage. Postharvest curing and storage temperatures can be a critical component of soft rot management. Specific temperature recommendations vary depending on the level of decay evident at packing and the market destiny of the potatoes (i.e., processing, fresh market, or long-term storage); for details, consult your local farm advisor or the reference Potato Health Management (R. C. Rowe, ed. 1993. St. Paul, MN: The American Phytopathological Society).

Blackleg. Use pathogen-free tubers for seed. Warm seed tubers to about 55°F before planting. Provide good drainage and do not over irrigate. Eliminate cull piles and potato volunteers in rotation crops and adjacent fields.

Treatment Decisions
Fungicides do not directly affect these bacterial pathogens, but seed piece treatments with fungicides can reduce invasion by other fungi and therefore reduce opportunistic infection by Erwinia spp. Chlorinate recirculated wash water with a concentration of 50 to 200 ppm, depending on potato variety.

PUBLICATION

UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Potato
UC ANR Publication 3463
Diseases
R. M. Davis, Plant Pathology, UC Davis
J. Nunez, UC Cooperative Extension, Kern Co.
B.J. Aegerter, UC Cooperative Extension, San Joaquin Co.
Acknowledgment for contributions to the disease section:
C. Smart, Plant Pathology, UC Davis

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