Institut für Züchtungsforschung an gartenbaulichen Kulturen
Pectinolytic bacteria of the species Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya ssp. cause blackleg and soft rot in the tubers and thus cause considerable damage. Even if the Enterobacteriaceae are not among the quarantine pests in Europe, they can result in up to 50% reduced plant growth and thus cause a significant economic loss. Years with increased heavy rain events, such as 2017, significantly promote the infestation with soft rot and lead to severe problems in the potato store. The mean infestation level in the sections with soft rot went up to 2.7% and with more than 12% infested deliveries, noticeably more sections were affected than in the previous season (2016/2017: 7%). As climate change progresses, such heavy rain events will increase, as can also be observed in the current 2021 season, especially in southern Germany. The only efficient control method at the moment is strict phytohygiene, especially when producing seed potatoes. For precursor seed tubers plants of classes PBTC and PB, zero tolerance to blackleg also applies to soft rot in class PBTC. In the »KUER« project, the problem of blackleg and soft rot is to be dealt with identifying resistance mechanisms. For this, it is necessary to establish high quality phenotyping in order to be able to separate the many factors that lead to the development of the diseases.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
