Bacterial diseases of potato

Abstract

Bacterial diseases are one of the most important biotic constraints of potato production, especially in tropical and subtropical regions, and in some warm temperate regions of the world. About seven bacterial diseases affect potato worldwide and cause severe damages especially on tubers, the economically most important part of the plant. Bacterial wilt and back leg are considered the most important diseases, whereas potato ring rot, pink eye, and common scab are the minor. Knowledge about zebra chip is extremely rare, as it occurs in a very isolated area and is an emerging disease in New Zealand, Europe, the USA and Mexico. Potato crop losses due to bacterial diseases could be direct and indirect; and they have several dimensions, some with short-term consequences such as yield loss and unmarketability of the produce and others with long-term consequences such as economic, environmental, and social. Some of them are of national and international importance and are the major constraints to clean seed potato production, with considerable indirect effects on trade. This review focuses on Clavibacter spp., Ralstonia spp., Pectobacterium spp., Dickeya spp., Streptomyces spp., and Liberibacter spp. pathogenic to potato, and looks at the respective pathogen in terms of their taxonomy and nomenclature, host range, geographical distribution, symptoms, epidemiology, pathogenicity and resistance, significance and economic losses, and management strategies. Nevertheless, the information collected here deal more with diseases known in developed and developing countries which cause severe economic losses on potato value chain.