EVALUATING ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE INFECTION IN WILD POTATOES

GARCÍA, L. E.; DIANA SEGURA; MASUELLI, R. W.; SANCHEZ PUERTA, M.V.

NEMATROPICA

ORGANIZATION TROP AMER NEMATOLOGISTS

Lugar: Florida; Año: 2013

0099-5444

The cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L ssp. tuberosum) originated in the Andes in South America and has more than 200 wild relatives (Hawkes, 1994). Cultivated potato varieties show a wide range of agronomical relevant traits, but are susceptible to several pathogens (Ross, 1986). Root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., cause great losses for potato breeders worldwide. Around 95% of the damage caused by root-knot nematodes worldwide is due to four species that belong to the ?Mi group? (M. incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica). In Mendoza (Argentina), 7,000 - 9,000 hectares are cultivated for potato, where root-knot nematodes constitute the most problematic soil plague, although few detailed taxonomic studies exist (Doucet and Pinochet, 1992; García and Sanchez-Puerta, 2012). S. tuberosum cv Spunta is the most widely consumed variety in Argentina (Fundación Instituto de Desarrollo Rural, Argentina) and is highly susceptible root-knot nematodes, including M. arenaria.