Factors affecting the occurrence of gangrene (Phoma exigua) in potatoes

The presence in soil from Scotland and England of Phoma exigua f. sp. exigua and P. exigua f.sp. foveata, which cause gangrene, is confirmed by isolation, and it is established that infection of tubers occurs before lifting, and after lifting from soil adhering to tubers. The distribution of the disease is related to soil moisture, gangrene being most prevalent in tubers from the north-eastern counties of Scotland where the moisture content of arable soils remains high throughout the growing season. The incidence of the disease may be affected by the haulm, either as a source of infection—though not an important source—or by its effect on the maturity of the tubers. The incidence of gangrene is less where haulm destruction is rapid. The incidence of gangrene in a crop is not related to its incidence in the seed tubers planted and, unless infection is severe, the effect on yield is not serious. Symptoms of skin necrosis were associated with tubers from acid soils, infected with P. exigua f.sp. foveata and stored at low temperature.     

The infection of potatoes by Phoma exigua

The pathogenicities of Phoma exigua var. foveata and P. exigua var. exigua were compared by determining the relationship between incidence of infection of whole tubers or tuber pieces and various inoculum levels in soil. In natural soil var. foveata was more pathogenic than var. exigua, but in sterilized soil there were no clear differences between the two. Both varieties were isolated from some lesions derived from inoculum to which only one variety had been added indicating either natural contamination of soil or latent infection in tubers; the proportion of such lesions increased at the lower inoculum concentrations. In studies where potato plants were grown in infested soils, the incidence of stem disease and tuber disease increased at increased inoculum concentrations of var. foveata; var. exigua was not added to the inoculum but was isolated from some lesions, the proportions of such lesions again increasing at lower inoculum concentrations. The infectivity of the infested soil, assessed by a tuber-baiting method, declined soon after planting but increased prior to harvest. Laboratory studies indicated that in natural soil the infectivity was highest after 2–3 months and lowest after 10 months incubation, but in sterilized soil infectivity was highest after 5 months and lowest after 7 months incubation.     

Factors affecting the assessment of resistance of potatoes to gangrene (Phoma exigua var. foveata)

Three experiments designed to elucidate the effects and interactions of different inoculation methods, inoculation positions, strains of Phoma exigua var. foveata and clones of potato tubers inoculated were analysed using as data dimensions of the lesions and a more general surface score. The assessment of susceptibility was affected by all these factors. The ranking of varieties for resistance altered considerably depending upon whether the surface area or the depth of lesions was considered. Derivation of more complex scores combining these measurements reduced the relative genetic component and hence would be of no value to potato breeders.     

The effect on gangrene incidence of dusting seed potatoes with benomyl at time of planting

In 1 out of 2 years' field trials benomyl applied as a dust treatment at time of planting seed potatoes resulted in an increase in potato gangrene in the progeny of both gangrene-free tubers planted in land contaminated with Phoma exigua var. foveata and gangrene-diseased tubers planted in clean land. Gangrene-infected seed tubers treated with benomyl also produced more stems infected with var. foveata than untreated tubers. Two hypotheses are presented to account for this increase in gangrene which does not occur in seed potatoes treated shortly after lifting. In all cultivars tested an organo-mercury dip-treatment increased total numbers of tubers in the seed and chat-size grades without increasing total weight whereas benomyl dust increased the numbers in these grades in Majestic only. The treatment of gangrene-diseased seed with benomyl dust affected neither total weight nor total number of tubers.     

The role of seed-tuber and stem inoculum in the development of gangrene in potatoes

To determine the relative importance of seed tubers and stems as sources of inoculum for potato gangrene in progeny tubers, different levels of inoculum of Phoma exigua var. foveata were established in field experiments by planting rotting or contaminated seed tubers and by inoculating stems shortly before haulm desiccation. The pathogen was only occasionally detected by isolation from inside green stems in June and July on plants growing from contaminated but unrotted seed. The incidence of pycnidia on desiccated stems increased with increasing concentration of inoculum contaminating seed tubers and with increasing time interval between desiccation and harvest. Stem infection was probably derived from inoculum on seed tubers spreading via the soil to the stem bases. Stem inoculation of plants growing from uninoculated or uncontaminated seed greatly increased both the gangrene potential of progeny tubers (defined as % wounds with gangrene after uniformly damaging tubers and storing them at 5°C for 12 wk), and tuber contamination (defined as % wounds with gangrene after spreading tuber-borne soil onto test tuber slices and storing them at 5°C for 8 wk). However, when stems of plants growing from rotting or contaminated seed were cut at ground level and removed before desiccation, gangrene potential of progeny tubers was only slightly less than that of tubers from untreated plots. There was no evidence that soil inoculum or aerial spread played a significant role in disease development. Gangrene potential and contamination of progeny tubers were related to Contamination levels on seed tubers. Some transmission also occurred from rotted seed tubers to progeny. Inoculum levels around progeny tubers increased rapidly after desiccation even in plots where stems had previously been cut at soil level and removed to eliminate pycnidial development above ground as a source of inoculum. Both gangrene potential and contamination of progeny tubers were greater on cv. Ulster Sceptre than on cv. Pentland Crown. The results showed that the inoculum on seed tubers, whether from rots or surface contamination, contributed more to the contamination of progeny tubers at harvest than did the inoculum from pycnidia on stems following desiccation of the haulm.     

Infection of potato stems by the gangrene pathogen, Phoma exigua var. foveata

Limited transport of pycnidiospores of Phoma exigua var. foveata within transpiring stems was demonstrated by isolating from cut mature stems placed for 24 h in a spore suspension. Pieces of shoot dipped in spore suspension and subsequently rooted contained the pathogen which was redistributed as the plants grew but without causing symptoms until after desiccation. The fungus was only rarely detected within stems growing from rotted seed tubers suggesting that spore transport in the vascular system was relatively unimportant in these experiments. Stems were readily infected from spore suspensions applied to unwounded epidermis especially when the inoculum was held in cotton wool and secured with wax film. The progressive colonisation of growing stems was demonstrated by isolations made at different positions on the stem and at different times after inoculation. In field experiments in two years stems were inoculated with four spore concentrations on four dates from late June to late August. After desiccation the extent of pycnidial lesions was greatest from the earliest inoculation date and the largest spore concentration and these differences were reflected subsequently in the incidence of gangrene on damaged progeny tubers. Younger stems may be more susceptible and infection in early summer probably results in extensive growth within the stem before desiccation and thus in massive pycnidial production.     

Methods of measuring the prevalence of Phoma exigua on potatoes and in soil

Methods are described for assessing inoculum of Phoma exigua by directly wounding potato test tubers and by inoculating soil into Arran Banner test tubers or slices. Large samples of tubers were wounded by dropping onto perforated metal sheet or grading on farm riddles, but standardization was achieved by inflicting four uniform wounds with shaped brass teeth. Tubers were then incubated for 12 wk at 5 ^oC. Soil samples to be tested were inoculated into crush wounds on surface-sterilized test tubers or tuber slices which were incubated for 8 wk at 5 ^oC. Assessments were speeded by immersing wounded slices in a mixture of Agrimycin and isopropylphenyl carbamate (IPC) solutions before inoculating, and then incubating for 2–3 wk at 10 ^oC. Although the sensitivity of test tubers is limited by their latent infection, comparisons of the tests in 3–5 years showed that the test tuber methods were frequently more sensitive than direct wounding, especially when amounts of inoculum were small.     

The fungal flora of loganberries in relation to storage and spoilage

Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Mucor mucedo, Phoma state of Didymella applanata, Cryptococcus laurentii var. laurentii, C. albidus var. albidus, Candida sake and Sporobolo-myces roseus were consistently present on freshly harvested loganberries. Botrytis cinerea was the main spoilage organism with Mucor mucedo of minor importance. The importance of benomyl-resistant strains of B. cinerea is discussed.     

Early diagnosis of crepitant gangrene caused by Bacteroides melaninogenicus.

A rapid non-invasive test for the presence of B. melaninogenicus in the wounds of crepitant non-clostridial gangrene is described. The wounds are viewed under an ultraviolet light, and the presence of bright red fluorescene indicates the probable presence of B. melaninogenicus.     

The fungal flora of soft fruits in relation to storage and spoilage

The fungal population of freshly harvested strawberries, raspberries and blackberries was studied throughout the fruiting seasons and the relative importance of fungi responsible for spoilage of stored fruit from different harvest dates was assessed. Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Aureobasidium pullulans and Mucor spp. were consistently present on all three fruits while Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Didymella applanata were prevalent on raspberries only and Epicoccum purpurascens and Alternaria spp. on blackberries only. Botrytis cinerea and Mucor mucedo were the predominant spoilage organisms of all three fruits, although the relative importance of the two fungi changed as the season progressed, especially for strawberries. Rhizopus stolonifer, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp. and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were only of minor importance as spoilage organisms.     

The effect of harvest date and duration of wound healing conditions on the susceptibility of damaged potato tubers to infection by Phoma exigua (gangrene)

In experiments extending over 3 yr, King Edward tubers harvested on various dates from early September until early November were uniformly wounded and kept at 15 ^oC and c. 95% r.h. for periods of up to 21 days for wounds to cure. When tubers were subsequently inoculated with Phoma exigua var.foveata and incubated at 5 ^oC for 12 wk, curing for 3 and 7 days decreased gangrene incidence to respectively c. 13 and 4% of the non-cured controls. When tubers were inoculated before curing and immediately after wounding, curing for 7 days decreased gangrene incidence to only c. 68% of the non-cured controls. Curing was also progressively less effective the later the date of harvesting, suggesting that there would be advantages in harvesting potato crops early in the autumn.     

The incidence of double-yolked eggs in relation to improvement in egg production

Summary The production of double-yolked eggs and its relation to other egg production traits has been summarized over a period of thirty years for a closed flock selected for gains in total egg production.The number of double-yolked eggs per pullet as well as the percentage of pullets laying at least one double-yolked egg have increased rather steadily, although it is evident that the trait possesses no selective advantage. Pullets which laid double-yolked eggs showed earlier sexual maturity and superiority in egg production but it is clear that the corresponding genetic correlations are low or negligible.The heritability of the trait increased with its level of incidence and is sufficiently high that selection should increase the incidence to a level permitting further study of multiple ovulation.

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Zusammenfassung An einer für eine Steigerung der Ei-Produktion ausgewählten Herde Weißer Leghornhühner wurde der Anfall von Eiern mit zwei Dottern und ihre Beziehung zu anderen Merkmalen der Ei-Produktion für einen Zeitraum von 30 Jahren zusammengestellt.Die Anzahl doppeldottriger Eier je Hühnchen und der Prozentsatz Hühnchen, die wenigstens ein doppeldottriges Ei legten, ist ziemlich konstant geblieben, wenn auch dieses Merkmal offensichtlich keinen Selektionswert hat. Hühnchen, die Eier mit zwei Dottern legten, zeigten eine frühere Geschlechtsreife und eine höhere Ei-Produktion, aber es ist klar, daß die entsprechenden genetischen Korrelationen niedrig sind.Die Erblichkeit des Merkmals stieg mit seinem Auftreten, sie ist hoch genug, daß eine Selektion das Auftreten noch steigern könnte, um eine weitere Untersuchung der mehrfachen Ovulation zu ermöglichen.

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Dedicated to Professor Hans Stubbe on the occasion of his 65^th birthday.     

The effect of soil- and tuber-borne inoculum on the incidence of potato gangrene

Under optimum growing conditions neither tuber- nor soil-borne Phoma exigua var. foveata inoculum appreciably affected stand or yield of the subsequent potato crop. Seed tubers with gangrene rots caused high levels of stem and tuber symptoms when planted in var. foveata contaminated or uncontaminated land; contaminated seed tubers with no rots also produced progeny with a high gangrene potential. Sufficient soil-borne inoculum was carried over in land that produced a gangrene affected crop in the previous year to override the effect of tuber disinfection. Effective gangrene control was achieved by a combination of tuber disinfection shortly after harvest over successive years with a 1 in 5 yr potato crop rotation. Gangrene rots usually developed through injuries to the tuber periderm, rots in other tubers being associated with pustules of powdery scab (Spon-gospora subterranea).     

Control of potato gangrene by thiabendazole in relation to time of harvest after haulm destruction and site of production

The efficiency of thiabendazole in controlling gangrene on potato tubers harvested on different dates was assessed over two years in Scotland (East Craigs) and England (Rothamsted). At East Craigs the incidence of gangrene on wounded and cold-stored tubers was greater than on those tubers kept at ambient store temperatures and graded in January, but the assessments were correlated. The incidence of gangrene increased with delay in harvest after haulm destruction although the pattern differed with year and site. Dipping tubers in thiabendazole or sodium hypochlorite almost eliminated gangrene on all harvest dates at Rothamsted but at East Craigs the incidence of gangrene on dipped tubers was much greater and tended to increase the longer the interval between haulm destruction and harvest. Furthermore, dipping tubers in thiabendazole was much more effective than spraying even though the fungicide residues were twice as large with the latter treatment. All 43 isolates of Phoma foveata collected in Scotland were sensitive to thiabendazole in agar plate tests. The results are discussed in relation to disease development at each of the sites.     

The incidence of the sudden infant death syndrome in relation to climate

Incidences of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) for eight metropolitan communities in U.S.A. are shown to correlate strongly with the mean percentages of cold-wet weather experienced by these places in the seven months centred on January. For white infants aged 4–51 weeks at death, the incidence varies from about one per thousand live births in the more favourable climates to around two per thousand under the less favourable conditions of northwest U.S.A. Incidences are higher for the nonwhite infants but exhibit a similar variation with climate.To be able to extend the study to other countries for which cold-wet weather percentages are not available, a surrogate cold-wet weather index is developed, based on mean cold-season temperature, insolation and number of days with precipitation.Australian and British SIDS incidences related to the surrogate cold-wet weather index exhibit a variation parallel to that for U.S.A. but somewhat higher over the whole range.The incidences used in this study are from the more extensive investigations in which diagnosis was made as a result of thorough postmortem examination.     

Prey handling in raptors in relation to their morphology and feeding niches

Most raptors take large prey for their size compared to other birds, but tear the prey apart into small morsels before swallowing. Little is known about how the efficiency of this prey handling varies among raptors, and how it relates to their feeding niches, diets and gape dimensions. We offered 202 mammalian and 224 avian prey items to 37 wild raptors kept temporarily in captivity, representing ten species and three orders. Feeding efficiency was measured as the proportion of a prey item that was ingested. The proportion of a prey item ingested was larger for mammalian than for avian prey, declined with prey size, increased with raptor size, and was larger for typical vole feeders (with shorter and wider bills) than typical bird feeders (with longer and narrower bills). The proportion of a prey item ingested was not related to raptor sex when controlling for focal raptor body mass. The probability that the head of a prey was ingested was higher if the prey was a mammal than if it was a bird, whereas the opposite was the case for the entrails of a prey. The results suggest that the traditional use of prey remains to estimate raptor diets may lead to severe biases, the magnitude of which would depend on prey type and size, raptor sex, species and order, and raptor feeding niche. Failure to correct for uneaten remains of a prey would lead to overestimating the profitability of large prey, and in particular of large avian prey. The results are consistent with the idea that vole feeders can afford to have a well‐developed digestive tract, and thus swallow prey in large pieces, because they pounce on prey from above. Bird feeders, however, must ingest food in smaller pieces because they have smaller guts as a result of selection to keep the body mass low to capture agile prey.     

The incidence of the common cold in relation to certain meteorological parameters

The effect of various meteorological parameters on the incidence of the common cold in 198 families was studied from October 1970 to September 1971 at Wingerworth, Derbyshire. Temperature fluctuation, particularly when repeated, was found to be the most significant factor, with school terms contributing markedly to the morbidity. Outdoor relative humidity levels were not found to be significant. The failure of the thermoregulation of the body, and more specifically of the nasal mucosa, in response to temperature stress is suggested as a possible mechanism which facilitates the development of virus to produce a common cold infection.

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Zusammenfassung Es wurde die Wirkung verschiedener meteorologischer Parameter auf die Häufigkeit von Erkältungen in 198 Familien von Oktober 1970 bis September 1971 in Wingerworth, Derbyshire, untersucht. Lufttemperaturschwankungen, besonders wenn sie wiederholt auftraten, hatten den stärksten Einfluss. Die Schulperiode trug erheblich zur Morbidität bei. Die relative Feuchtigkeit der Luft war ohne Bedeutung. Ein Versagen der Wärmeregulation des Körpers insbesondere im Bereich der Nasenschleimhäute bei Temperaturbelastung wird als mögliche Reaktion angesehen, die die Entwicklung des Virus erleichtert und zur Erkältung führt.

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Resume On a étudié les effets de différents paramètres météorologiques sur la fréquence du rhume commun dans 198 familles de Wingerworth, Derbyshire. Cette étude a été effectuée d'octobre 1970 à septembre 1971. Les fluctuations de température, spécialement si elles se répètent, se sont révélées le facteur déterminant. Quant à la fréquence de l'atteinte du mal, c'est surtout en périodes scolaires que la transmission du virus a lieu. Par contre, l'humidité relative de l'air est sans signification. On en conclut qu'une défaillance de la régulation thermique du corps, principalement dans la région des muqueuses nasales, s'il y a contrainte thermique, doit être considérée comme une réaction possible facilitant le développement du virus et conduisant au refroidissement.

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Presented at the Sixth International Biometeorological Congress, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 3–9 September 1972.     

The influence of cultivar and isolate on the development of gangrene (Phoma exigua var. foveata) in potato tubers

In studies on the infection of potato cultivars with different field isolates of Phoma exigua var. foveata, cultivar × isolate interactions, although sufficiently large to influence the relative pathogenicities of isolates on different cultivars, were not substantial enough to affect cultivar ranking order. Cultivar rank was markedly influenced by pathogen isolate only when both field and culture collection isolates were compared. This suggests that the complications of cultivar × isolate interactions can be avoided in cultivar screening tests by the use of recent field isolates of high pathogenicity. It was found that cultivar was considerably more important than isolate in determining gangrene lesion size. The need to consider both lesion diameter and depth when estimating rot size following point inoculation of different cultivars was confirmed.     

Assessment of the damage caused to potatoes by potato cyst eelworm, Heterodera rostochiensis Woll

Thirty field trials were carried out from 1960 to 1967, mainly on peat and silt soils in the eastern counties of England, to study the relationship between potato yield and numbers of H. rostochiensis. The population range of most interest to advisers (0–60 full cysts/100 g (0–150 eggs/g)) was encountered by chance fairly frequently. The relationship between yield and initial eelworm densities over this range could be expressed equally well untransformed or transformed (using square root transformation for cyst counts and log. transformation for egg counts). Sigmoid curves could not often be fitted to the graphs of yield against log. egg count because densities large or small enough were not often encountered and small numbers cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy. Assuming straight-line regressions of yield on untransformed eelworm densities certain generalizations can be made. The slopes vary somewhat, but on average losses are 1·2 tons/acre per ten full cysts/100 g and 0·85 tons/acre per twenty eggs/g. Linear regressions tend to be parallel over a large range of potential yields which means that yield loss is independent of potential yield. In five trials there was some evidence that the yield had reached a minimum varying between 5 and 10 tons/acre when eelworm populations were very dense. In two trials, estimates of maximum and minimum yield were obtained. Both gave the difference (maximum loss) as 7 tons/acre and the ratio of minimum to maximum as 0·50 and 0·44 respectively. Yield losses were often great without obvious symptoms appearing in the haulm.