Potato Viruses Y and A (PVY and PVA) is the second most important potato virus. It is perpetuated through infected tubers and transmitted by aphids in a nonpersistent manner. Potatoes yield losses may reach 80%.

Symptoms of Potato Viruses Y and A

Symptoms of Potato Viruses Y and A vary widely with virus strain,Potatoes  cultivar, and environmental conditions.
Rugosity, bunching, twisting of leaves, downward turning of leaflet margins, stunting, necrosis of leaflet veins, necrotic spotting, leaf necrosis, and stem streak are typical.
Less sensitive potatoes cultivars may react by developing with only a mild mosaic, or they may be infected symptomlessly.
PVA is in many respects similar to PVY.
When present in certain cultivars, it is generally less severe than PVY.
Potatoes yield losses may reach 40%.
PVA causes mosaic (sometimes severe), as well as rugosity and crinkling, and leaves may appear shiny.
PVA symptoms are usually milder, but cannot be easily distinguished from those of PVY.

Management

Management of PVY and PVA is by clonal selection and roguing in seed propagation. Resistant potatoes cultivars are available.

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Symptoms of disease caused by Potato Leafroll Virus

Primary symptoms caused by currentseason aphid-transmitted infection are rolling of upper potato plants leaves, especially of leaflet bases. These leaves tend to be upright and are generally pale yellow.
With many cultivars, they are tinged purple, pink, or red. Late infections may not cause symptoms, whereas some cultivars are infected symptomlessly.

Potato tubers of highly sensitive cultivars develop net necrosis in the flesh. Secondary symptoms (of plants grown from infected tubers of subspecies tuberosum) are rolling of basal leaves, stunting, upright growth, and paleness of upper leaves.

Rolled leaves are stiff and leathery, and sometimes tinged purple on their undersides.

Subspecies andigena reacts differently: it develops marginal and interveinal chlorosis, especially of upper leaves, marked upright growth, and often severe stunting.

Rolling of lower leaves is usually lacking. Natural transmission is by aphids in a persistent manner, and through infected tubers.

Management

Potato Leafroll Virus can be managing by selecting healthy plants gor growing and eliminating diseased plants through roguing in seed propagation.

Systemic insecticides will decrease spread by aphids within the crop but will not prevent infection by viruliferous aphids from other fields.
Potato Leafroll Virus is the only potato virus known to be eliminated from tubers by heat treatment.

Resistant potatoes cultivars have been developed recently.

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Fusarium and Verticillium fungi are widespread potatoes diseases and persist several years in soil.
To reduce populations of these fungi is necessary a long crop rotation (4 to 6 years).

Avoid using any solanaceous crop (potato, tomato, pepper, eggplant) in the rotation. In case of Verticillium wilt also avoids the use of strawberries and raspberries, which are highly susceptible.
Rotate with cereals and grasses wherever possible.
It is important to keep rotational crops weed-free. As there are many weeds hosts of Verticillium.

Whenever practical, remove and destroy infested potato plant material after harvest.
Maintain a high level of plant vigour with appropriate fertilization and irrigation, but do not over-irrigate, especially early in the season.
If soils are severely infested, production of potatoes crops may not be possible unless soil fumigation is an option.

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Scab is a common tuber defect in most potato-growing regions, although usually not where soils are very acid. The causal organism has been introduced into most potato soils. It affects only quality, not yield.

Symptoms of Common scab

Several types of lesions develop. They may be superficial or reticular, deep or pitted, or protuberant. They vary in size and shape, but are usually circular and not more than 10 mm in diameter. They may coalesce so that most of the tuber surface becomes affected. Fibrous roots may also be damaged.

Management

Maintain high soil water levels compatible with good potato growth during tuber set and enlargement. Avoid planting scabby seed tubers. Avoid repeated crops of potato or other scab-susceptible plants such as red beet, sugarbeet, radish, rutabaga, turnip, carrot, and parsnip (in these, the disease seldom has economic importance).
Scab-resistant varieties are useful. Maintain soil pH levels at 5 to 5.2 with acid-forming fertilizers or sulfur.
Avoid heavy lime applications and preferably use dolomitic lime where needed. “Acid scab” may be controlled with chemical seed treatments (mancozeb dust, 8%) or soil fumigation.

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Sepedonicus Bacterial ring rot is a recurring disease problem in temperate regions.
It occasionally appears in tropical countries when seed from temperate regions is used, and can be confused with brown rot.

Symptoms of Ring Rot potatoes disease

Symptoms usually appear mid-season or later and include wilting (often of only some stems of a plant). Lower leaves become flaccid, with a pale yellow color between major veins. An upward rolling of leaf margins may occur, and death may soon follow.
Stem and tuber sections show brown vascular rings that, when squeezed, may exude bacterial ooze. Most of the tuber vascular ring rots and turns either gray, yellowish, tan, or reddish brown. However, secondary organisms may cause a soft rot. Tuber infection can be confused with bacterial wilt (or brown rot), except that oozing around the eyes does not occur.
Ring rot is mainly a seed tuber-transmitted disease. It survives in volunteer potato plants. The bacterium does not survive in the soil but may be carried on tools, machinery, crates, and bags.

Management

Plant only disease-free seed. Eliminate volunteers in the field before planting clean stock. Follow strict sanitation practices and disinfest bins, equipment, tools, and crates. Use new bags. Plant entire (not cut) seed tubers.

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Symptoms of Blackleg and Soft Rot

Blackleg can occur at any stage of development when moisture is excessive. Black, slimy lesions most often progress up the stem from the soft, rotted mother tuber. New tubers sometimes rot at the stolon end. Young plants are commonly stunted and erect.

Yellowing and upward rolling of leaflets may occur, often followed by wilting and death.

Soft rot bacteria may infect lenticels when tuber surfaces are wet, causing circular depressed areas, from which rot may spread rapidly while tubers are in transit or storage. Soft rot in the field or in storage often follows mechanical tuber injury or injury caused by pests and diseases. Affected tissues become wet and cream to tan colour and soft, and are easily separated from healthy tissue.

Management

Avoid planting in wet soils and do not over irrigate. Harvest tubers when ripe, handle them gently, and do not leave them exposed to sun. Tubers must be dry prior to storage or shipping. Some varieties are more resistant than others.

Blackleg can occur at any stage of development when moisture is excessive. Black, slimy lesions most often progress up the stem from the soft, rotted mother tuber. New tubers sometimes rot at the stolon end. Young plants are commonly stunted and erect.
Yellowing and upward rolling of leaflets may occur, often followed by wilting and death.
Soft rot bacteria may infect lenticels when tuber surfaces are wet, causing circular depressed areas, from which rot may spread rapidly while tubers are in transit or storage. Soft rot in the field or in storage often follows mechanical tuber injury or injury caused by pests and diseases. Affected tissues become wet and cream to tan colour and soft, and are easily separated from healthy tissue.

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Symptoms of Bacterial Wilt potato disease

Initial wilting may affect only one side of a leaf or branch. Mild yellowing usually accompanies wilting.
Later symptoms are severe wilt and browning and desiccation of leaves, followed by death. Vascular strands darken and, when a cross section is made, a grayish white slime exudes, except in mild cases. This can be confirmed by the flow of milky white strands from a stem section placed just below the surface of a glass of still, clear water.
A grayish white bacterial slime may ooze through the eyes or stolon end of tubers, where soil adheres.
Grayish white beads exude from the usually darkened vascular ring of cut stems or tubers.

Aerial or tuber symptoms may occur alone, but the latter usually follow the former. Latent tuber infection occurs when infected seed is planted in cool locations or in tubers infected late in the growing season.

Wilt develops rapidly at high temperatures.

Management

Most effective way to prevent potato from Bacterial Wilt is crop rotation (not belong to the Solanaceae family).
Diseased potatoes seed causes the most severe bacterial wilt infection and results in spread to non-infested soil.
Disease also spread via water flowing along rows and from field to field. Root-to-root contact also transmits the bacterium.

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The fungus that caused Ireland’s potato famine more than 150 years ago is starting to make its presence known in Wisconsin.  Thirteen counties in Wisconsin, not including Kenosha County, and several other states have confirmed cases of late blight, a fungus that attacks tomatoes and potatoes.

Barb Larson, horticulture educator for the Kenosha County University of Wisconsin-Extension, said late blight was the cause of 19th century potato famines in Ireland and the fungus can be extremely destructive.

Amanda Gevens, plant pathologist for the University of Wisconsin and UW-Extension, said the fungus first was found in Dane County on July 29 and has spread rapidly around the state.

“In a month’s time it has had a great increase in area and severity and spread from tomatoes to potatoes,” Gevens said.

Kenosha County has not reported any official cases yet, but recent weather conditions have been prime for the spread of this fungus.
“We’re not sure where this came from, but the high dew points and cooler temperatures have made it perfect conditions for this fungus,” Larson said. “We have confirmed it on tomatoes in Walworth County and western Racine County, but we have not seen any definite ones in Kenosha County, but it’s a very strong possibility.”
The fungus, which has not been seen in Wisconsin since 2002, has seemed to mostly attack tomatoes in the state so far.

The first sign of late blight is gray-green spots on the center or tips of leaves of a tomato or potato plant.

“It’s described as water-soaked because those spots look like someone dropped water on the leaves,” Larson said.

In later stages, the spots grow and turn brown and nearly black as the fungus grows. Brown-and-black lesions then spread to the plant’s stem and, within a week or two, a whole plant becomes infected and the plant is reduced to hanging black leaves. The fruits of the plants also will end up with brown, sunken areas.

“It looks like someone burned the fruit on the top or the side,” Larson said.

Gardeners who find this fungus are encouraged to pull out the plant and destroy it, either by throwing it away with the regular garbage or letting it dry and burning it.

“The fungus spreads on plant matter, so we want to make sure that we destroy any plant matter that the fungus sits around on,” Larson said. “We don’t want to let it sit around.”

Kenosha residents also can bring plants they suspect of being infected to the Kenosha County UW-Extension office at the Kenosha County Center in Bristol at 19600 75th St. for further examination. Master gardeners are available at the extension on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

For gardeners looking to prevent late blight, Larson said copper fungicides can help, but people should make sure the fungicide is clearly marked for the plant they are looking to protect.

Larson said unaffected parts of tomatoes and potatoes probably are safe to eat, once the infected areas are cut out, but they may not taste good. Tomatoes affected by blight should not be canned or frozen at all.

Curzio Caravati, a local grower of potatoes and tomatoes and vice president of the Kenosha HarborMarket, said he has not seen any signs of the fungus in this area yet. But Caravati said potato farmers in the eastern part of the country have been dealing with late blight.

Wisconsin is a large producer of potatoes, and Larson said there are concerns about the spread of late blight.

“We have people who depend on tomatoes and potatoes, and we want to stop the spread if at all possible,” Larson said. “In Wisconsin, the strain that affects potatoes does not seem to be really strong, so we hope it does not have a significant economic impact.

But it is very possible that it will have a tomato impact. It seems to be spreading faster and seems to be pretty aggressive.”

But Larson also said the massive damage caused by this fungus 150 years ago is not likely to be replicated.

“Are we worried about everyone starving to death and not having potatoes? No,” Larson said.

“Our plant pathology is much more advanced. We know what to do and how to manage it.”

Leaf roll virus infection is characterized by upward rolling of lesf margin so that the undersurface is exposed. When the leafroll virus is carries by seed tuber then leaf rolling is first evident on lower leaves (secondary symptoms).
On recent infected plants rolling usually begins on the upper leaves (primary symptoms). Leaf rolling also results from causes other viruses.

Management and control of potato leaf roll virus

Since the spread of leaf roll virus takes more time than leaf roll virus, insecticide application can be effective if the aphid populations are closely monitored. Colonizing aphids are the most important vectors for this virus because transmission requires an extended feeding period. The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, is one of the most important vectors. The use of clean seed is critically important. Roguing of infected plants helps prevent the spread of leaf roll virus and early harvest can help prevent late-season infection.

Handling plants will not spread the virus, since leaf roll virus is not mechanically transmissible.

The leaves of potato plants infected by virus Y become brittle and dry, while remaining attached to the plant. It can also produce a distorting mosaic (crinkle), often located on a stem or part of the plant.

Management and control of potato virus Y

To use of insecticides is generally not effective as potato virus Y is a nonresistant virus and is transmitted quickly by aphids.
The best strategy to control potato virus Y is to use seed potatoes certified to have low virus content. For reduce spread by aphids mineral oils can be used.
Try to minimize mechanical spread by sanitizing equipment and reducing traffic through the field.
Infected plants can serve as a source of inoculum for the rest of the field, so rogue (pull out and dispose of) symptomatic plants.
Avoid planting potatoes next to weedy ditches and hedgerows, and practice good weed control within the field.

For growing potatoes choose varieties with some resistance or tolerance to potato virus Y are Eva, Dark Red Norland, Belrus, HiLite Russet, Kennebec, Monona, Norwis, and Sebago.