Brown rot or Bangle blight treatment in potatoes

Brown rot or Bangle blight, at the time tuber formation wilt is the main characteristic symptom. In leaf symptom -wilt, stunt and yellowing. Browning of xylem tissue. Eye buds are black incolour. Bacteria ooze coming on infected tuber surface and emits a foul odour.

Brown rot or Bangle blight Pathogen

G –ve, short rod, 1-4 flagella. Colonies are white to brown in colour

Brown rot or Bangle blight Favourable condition

Temp 25to 35ºC , RH above 50 % and PH 6.2-6.6 favours for the development of disease. Acid soil is not favourable.

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Brown rot or Bangle blight Mode of spread and survival

Infected soil and seed tubers form the main source of the primary infection. Brown rot affected plant parts decay and release masses of bacteria in the soil where these may remain viable from season to season. The bacteria in the soil are disseminated by wind from one field to the other. The infection usually occurs through wounds in the root system.

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Disease cycle

R. solanacearum is a soilborne and waterborne pathogen; the bacterium can survive and disperse for various periods of time in infested soil or water, which can form a reservoir source of inoculum. In potato, the brown rot pathogen is also commonly tuber borne. The bacterium usually infects potato plants through the roots (through wounds or at the points of emergence of lateral roots).Under favorable conditions, potato plants infected with R. solanacearum may not show any disease symptoms. In this case, latently infected tubers used for potato seed production may play a major role in spread of the bacterium from infected potato seed production sites to healthy potatogrowing sites. R. solanacearum can survive for days to years in infected plant material in soils, infested surface irrigation water, infected weeds, and infected potato washings and sewage. From these sources of inoculum, bacteria can spread from infested to healthy fields by soil transfer on machinery, and surface runoff water after irrigation or rainfall. Infected semi-aquatic weeds may also play a major role in disseminating the pathogen by releasing bacteria from roots into irrigation water supplies.