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Title: Hairy Nightshade Undermines Resistance of Potato Breeding Lines to Columbia Root-Knot Nematode

Author
item Boydston, Rick
item Mojtahedi, Hassan
item Brown, Charles
item Anderson, Treva
item RIGA, EKATERINA - WSU,PROSSER, WA

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2007
Publication Date: 7/2/2007
Citation: Boydston, R. A., H. Mojtahedi, C. R. Brown, T. L. Anderson, and E. Riga. Hairy nightshade undermines resistance of potato breeding lines to Columbia root-knot nematode. Amer. J. Potato Res. 84:245-251. 2007.

Interpretive Summary: Columbia root-knot nematode is a major pest of potato in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and is controlled by costly soil fumigation. Potato breeding lines have been developed with resistance to the Columbia root knot nematode, but in field trials some resistant lines resulted in nematode damaged tubers when late season weeds were present. Hairy nightshade is a common weed in potato production and a host of Columbia root knot nematode. These studies discovered that hairy nightshade growing with resistant potato lines can act as a host to the nematode. Some potato lines were found to express both root and tuber resistance to the nematode while other lines expressed only root resistance. Resistant potato lines grown in the presence of hairy nightshade that express only root resistance resulted in tuber damage by Columbia root knot nematode. Resistant potato lines that express both root and tuber resistance were not damaged by the nematode even when grown in the presence of hairy nightshade. These results demonstrate how weed hosts of Columbia root knot nematode may negate the positive impact of growing resistant potatoes that lack tuber resistance and the importance of weed control on managing plant parasitic nematode populations.

Technical Abstract: Columbia root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne chitwoodi, is a major pest of potato in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and is controlled by costly soil fumigation. Potato breeding lines have been developed with resistance to the predominant race 1 (CRN-1) of M. chitwoodi. Hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides, is a common weed in potato production in the Western USA and a host of CRN-1. Field and greenhouse studies were conducted with two potato lines with known CRN-1 resistance (PA95B4-67 and PA99N82-4) and a CRN-1 susceptible potato cultivar, Russet Burbank. Both resistant breeding lines grown in the absence of hairy nightshade demonstrated root resistance to CRN-1 and exhibited only minor tuber infection. However, when resistant lines were grown in the presence of hairy nightshade, some PA95B4-67 tubers were infected, whereas PA99N82-4 expressed tuber resistance. Hairy nightshade grown with potato maintained CRN-1 populations prior to potato tuber set allowing nematodes to infect developing tubers lacking resistance. PA99N82-4 grown in the presence of CRN-1 and hairy nightshade produced tubers free of CRN-1 damage, indicating both root and tuber resistance to CRN-1. Russet Burbank tubers were damaged by CRN-1 regardless of hairy nightshade presence. These results demonstrate how weed hosts of CRN-1 may negate the positive impact of growing CRN-1 resistant potatoes that lack tuber resistance and the importance of weed control on managing plant parasitic nematode populations.