Institut für Pflanzenschutz in Ackerbau und Grünland
Potato starch is a versatile commodity and forms an integral part of the German national bioeconomy strategy. Due to low merit for transportation of the tubers, starch potatoes are produced on land located around existing starch factories. This caused high disease pressure which, in combination with poor crop rotation practices, in some areas like the Emsland region resulted in increased population densities of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida. In affected areas, national law restricts potato production to cultivation of nematode resistant varieties. Continuous cultivation of resistant varieties, however, led to high selection pressures on the existing nematode populations and resulted in a shift of virulence in the nematode populations such that formerly highly resistant potato varieties can now be infested by these new virulence types. This left no control means in such G.pallida-infested fields. Hence, the major goal of this project is the development of improved genetic material carrying resistance against new virulence types of the quarantine disease G. pallida. Resistant genotypes were previously identified in wild and primitive Solanum sp. and will now be characterised in more detail regarding their resistance against new virulence types of G. pallida. The development of R gene specific DNA markers will accelerate R gene introgression into potato variety candidates. Stability and mechanisms of resistance present in different plant genetic resources will be investigated with various nematode populations, which will enable effective gene stacking and, thus, lead to improved stability and durability of nematode resistance. In the long run, this projects facilitates sustainable production of potato starch by supplying innovative potato varieties with a broad resistance portfolio towards the most pressing pathogens.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
