Diseases

Potato late blight

Solanum tuberosum L.

A dangerous disease caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, which affects potato foliage and tubers. It is characterized by high genetic variability of the pathogen and the presence of vertical resistance based on R-genes.

In the reference 1 396 varieties crop Potato, where this is mentioned in the description.

The causative agent of the disease is Phytophthora infestans, which affects all plant organs. On the foliage, symptoms appear in the second half of the growing season as brown spots with a characteristic white fungal growth under high humidity. Infected tubers become covered with firm, sunken spots with a rusty-brown dry rot in the flesh.

Pathogen populations include complex races with multiple virulence genes capable of overcoming the resistance provided by R1, R2, R3, and other genes. In potato breeding, a distinction is made between vertical resistance, based on R-genes from wild species, and horizontal polygenic resistance, which restricts disease development regardless of the race composition of the pathogen.

General information about the subject — on the page Late blight.

Sources8

Varieties of Potato mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.