A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: Fri 19 Dec 2014
Source: The Echo of India [edited]
<http://echoofindia.com/jalpaiguri-bacteria-infested-potato-seeds-other-states-led-disease-experts-74132>
Experts investigating the reason for the massive loss of potato production in Jalpaiguri district have found that the disease which has destroyed potato plants in over 500 hectares was due to the untreated and bacteria-infested seeds [tubers] brought in from other states. Seeds from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were not checked before they were sold to farmers.
The teams from North Bengal University and Alipurduwar Agriculture University concluded that the seeds were already infested with bacteria [and] urged farmers to examine potato seeds before sowing them. "If the farmers and seed suppliers continue to neglect checking the seeds before using them, it can be even more damaging in future," they warned.
More than 500 hectares of the total 1500 hectares used to grow [2 varieties of] potato in Jalpaiguri District have been destroyed by the bacteria.
The District Crop Protection Department has started an awareness campaign to educate the farmers. "We do not have a proper research facility in the district to check the seeds brought in from other states, hence we have urged the farmers only to use the seeds distributed by the agriculture department," they said.
--
communicated by: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[It is not clear from the report above on what diagnostic methods the conclusion that a bacterial pathogen was the problem was based. Seed tubers are known to pose a high risk of carrying a number of potato pathogens. Therefore, certification schemes based on reliable diagnostic tools are essential to protect national potato industries and have been set up by many countries. Nevertheless, problems continue to arise worldwide due either to farmers bypassing these schemes by using farm-saved seed tubers or to failure of diagnostic systems used for certification.
If indeed bacteria have reliably been identified as causing the problems described above, the disease affecting the crop in WB could be, for example, brown rot (also called bacterial wilt) caused by _Ralstonia solanacearum_ race 3 and reported before in WB (ProMED-mail post 20080206.0477), or other bacterial potato diseases also known to occur in Asia, such as ring rot (_Clavibacter michiganensis_ subsp. _sepedonicus_) or blackleg (_Pectobacterium_ or _Dickeya_ species).
These diseases can be spread with infected seed tubers or other plant material, plant-to-plant contact, soil, water and by mechanical means (for example during harvest). The advice to farmers above to "examine" seed tubers before planting cannot suffice to identify the presence or absence of any kind of pathogens, but instead, reliable diagnosis is essential for designing management strategies.
Maps
India:
<http://www.mapsofindia.com/images2/india-map.jpg>
West Bengal districts:
<http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/westbengal/westbengal-district.htm>
Pictures
Potato brown rot symptoms:
<http://www.massnrc.org/PESTS/pestFAQsheets/popup_code/ralstoniafig07.htm>
and
<http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/bacteria/Ralstonia_solanacearum/PSDMSO_images.htm>
Potato ring rot symptoms via:
<http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subimages.cfm?sub=11051> and <http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/bacteria/Clavibacter_m_sepedonicus/CORBSE_images.htm>
Potato blackleg symptoms:
<http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advice/ACEImages/SCN0000138_742421.jpg>,
<http://www.fwi.co.uk/assets/getasset.aspx?itemid=5234670> and <http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/prokaryotes/Article%20Images/BlacklegPotato06.jpg>
Links
Additional news story:
<http://echoofindia.com/jalpaiguri-bacteria-destroys-potato-jalpaiguri-74030>
Information on potato brown rot:
<https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/farmingsectors/crops/potatoes/potatodiseasesandtests/Potato%20Brown%20Rot%20information%20sheet%20%28doc%20992Kb%29050210.pdf>,
<http://fera.co.uk/plantClinic/documents/factsheets/brownrot.pdf> and via <http://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/bacteria/Ralstonia_solanacearum/PSDMSO_ds.pdf>
Information on potato ring rot:
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3103.html>,
<http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/brr.htm> and <http://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/bacteria/Clavibacter_m_sepedonicus/CORBSE_ds.pdf>
Information on potato blackleg (and soft rot):
<http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r607100111.html>,
<http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=223> and <http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/diseases/Solani/Solani_Erwinia_carotovora_subsp_atroseptica/>
Bacterial taxonomy via:
<http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/> and
<http://www.bacterio.net/>
List of major bacterial (and other) pathogens of potato via:
<http://www.apsnet.org/publications/commonnames/Pages/Potato.aspx> - Mod.DHA
A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed/p/323>.]
[See Also:
Bacterial ring rot, potato - Europe: (France, Slovakia, Finland)
20140611.2533363
Brown rot, potato - Russia: (PR) interceptions 20140527.2500654
2013
---
Blackleg, potato - China: (GD) 20130719.1833922 Bacterial ring rot, potato - Chile: (AR) 20130329.1609025
2012
---
Potato diseases - UK, Philippines: incursions susp 20121213.1448960
2011
---
Brown rot, potato - Russia: (KL) ex Egypt 20110418.1208
2010
---
Brown rot, potato - Lesotho: (MS, TT) 20100221.0591
2009
---
Brown rot, potato - Australia: (QLD), new strain 20090821.2958
2008
---
Brown rot, potato - Ireland 20081028.3401 Brown rot, potato - Russia: (IRK) ex China 20080820.2595 Brown rot, potato - Mauritius: 1st report 20080515.1629 Potato diseases - India: (West Bengal) 20080206.0477 and additional items on bacterial diseases of potato in the archives]
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