THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF POTATO VARIETIES TO INFESTATION BY THE EELWORMS DITYLENCHUS DESTRUCTOR AND D. DIPSACI

Twenty-five varieties of potato in common commercial cultivation were found to be susceptible to tuber attack by potato-derived populations of Ditylenchus destructor under field and pot experimental conditions. Stunting and leaf deformation may also be caused by the eelworms but appear less consistently. A race of D. destructor from mushroom spawn had almost no effect on potatoes. Various races of D. dipsaci can reproduce in the shoot tissue of potato, sometimes causing damage. One population of this stem eelworm produced lesions on the tubers.