Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Integrated approaches for managing potato early blight: evaluating fungicides, botanicals, biocontrol agents, and resistance genotypes against Alternaria solani
*Article not assigned to an issue yet
Research Articles | Published: 10 June, 2025
First Page: 0
Last Page: 0
Views: 409
Keywords: Potato, Food security, Alternaria blight, Fungicidal resistance, Integrated disease management, Biocontrol agents
Abstract
Our food security is threatened by various crop diseases which may cause significant loss in yield or may make the produce unfit for human consumption and sometimes causes serious health issues by the production of mycotoxins. It is reported that diseases cause 14.1% loss in all crop produce, globally. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) belongs to Solanaceae family holds the fourth rank following maize, wheat, and rice and considered as most important food crop globally. Due to its high yield, nutrient content, and economic impact, considered as a staple food which makes it a game changer to ensure global food security and this crop has the ability to feed the rising global population which is estimated to be 9.8 billion by 2025. It is the main staple food in many developing nations and may supply more carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and vitamins per unit of land than other possible food crops. These aspects have driven scientific attention to potato improvement, keeping the yield unaffected. The potato crop is affected by several biotic and abiotic stresses amongst them, the most important biotic factor affecting yield and quality is Alternaria blight which causes a significant loss in both yield and quality of tubers. Several studies have been conducted to manage Alternaria blight in potato using fungicides, rising fungicidal resistance necessitates integrated approaches. Combining alternative control measures with fungicides offers a viable strategy, especially for mild to moderate disease severity. Considering this, the present study was carried out to explore the various management approaches for Alternaria blight under field conditions. Two fungicides, two botanicals, and two bioagent treatments were evaluated for their efficacy against AB under field conditions. Amongst them, the treatments with fungicides were found promising to manage AB followed by the treatment with the Bacillus sp. Additionally, a total of thirty-eight potato germplasms were screened to find out the resistance source against AB. Amongst them, none of the genotypes showed an immune and resistant response. Six genotypes were found moderately resistant, eight genotypes were moderately susceptible whereas nineteen genotypes showed susceptible reaction and five genotypes were found highly susceptible against the early blight of potato. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for potato growers, researchers, and industrialists by showcasing the effectiveness of fungicides and Bacillus sp. in managing Alternaria blight under field conditions.
References
Alam Z (1985) Screening of Solanum spp. against Alternaria solani. Pak J Agric Res 6(3):180–182
Bahl A, Kahl G (1995) Air pollutant stress changes the steady-state transcript levels of three photosynthesis genes. Environ Pollut 88(1):57–65
Burlingame B, Mouillé B, Charrondiere R (2009) Nutrients, bioactive non-nutrients and anti-nutrients in potatoes. J Food Compos Anal 22(6):494–502
Chakrabarti SK, Sharma S, Shah MA (2022) Potato pests and diseases: a global perspective. Sustainable management of potato pests and diseases. Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp 1–23
Dhiman JS, Chadha ML (1986) Studies on artificial creation of purple blotch epiphytotics in onion for identifying source of resistance. Veg Sci 13:293–299
Ellis MB (1971) Demataceous hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, England
Eves-van den Akker S, Laetsch DR, Thorpe P, Lilley CJ, Danchin EG, Da Rocha M, Jones JT (2016) The genome of the yellow potato cyst nematode, globodera rostochiensis, reveals insights into the basis of parasitism and virulence. Genome Biol 17(1):1–23
Franc GD, Harrison MD, Lahman LK (1988) A simple day-degree model for initiating chemical control of potato early blight in Colorado. Plant Dis 72(10):851–854
Ganie SA, Ghani MY (2013) Field evaluation of potato germplasm for resistance to Alternaria Solani. Indian J Pl Protec 41(2):152–155
Ganie SA, Ghani MY, Nissar Q, Jabeen N, Anjum Q, Ahanger FA, Ayaz A (2013) Status and symptomatology of early blight (Alternaria solani) of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in Kashmir Valley. Afr J Agril Res 8(41):5104–5115
Hameed A, Zaidi SSEA, Shakir S, Mansoor S (2018) Applications of new breeding technologies for potato improvement. Front Plant Sci 9:925
Hanif S, Naz S, Iqbal S (2013) Antifungal activity of Azadirachta indica against Alternaria Solani. J Life Sci Technol 1(1):88–89
Harrison MD, Livingston CH, Oshima N (1965) Epidemiology of potato early blight in Colorado 1. Initial infection, disease development and the influence of environmental factors. Am Potato J 42(10):279–291
Herman DJ, Knowles LO, Knowles NR (2017) Heat stress affects carbohydrate metabolism during cold-induced sweetening of potato (Solanum tuberosum L). Planta 245(3):563–582
Ishak NF, Mazlan Z (2025) Key challenges and potentials of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) farming in malaysia: A Mini review. Potato Research, pp 1–16
Jansen MA (2002) Ultraviolet-B radiation effects on plants: induction of morphogenic responses. Physiol Plant 116(3):423–429
Lacombe JP, Patty L, Steiger D (2001) Fenamidone: antimildew for vine and potato. Phytoma, (535): 42–44
Leiminger J, Hausladen H (2008) Efficacy of different fungicides for the control of early blight. PPO-Special Rep No 13:123–126
Leiminger JH, Hausladen H (2012) Early blight control in potato using disease-orientated threshold values. Plant Dis 96(1):124–130
Liang S, McDonald AG (2014) Chemical and thermal characterization of potato Peel waste and its fermentation residue as potential resources for biofuel and bioproducts production. J Agric Food Chem 62(33):8421–8429
Mayee CD, Datar VV (1986) Phytopathometry technical Bulletin-1. MarathwadAgril. Univ. Prabhani, p 25
Mckinney HH (1923) Influence of soil temperature and moisture on infection of wheat seedlings by Helminthosporium sativam. J Agric Res 26:195–217
Mehboob S, Khan MA, Rehman A, Idrees M (2013) Role of epidemiological and biochemical factors against early blight of potato. Esci J Pl Path 2(1):114–118
Nowicki M, Foolad MR, Nowakowska M, Kozik EU (2012) Potato and tomato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans: an overview of pathology and resistance breeding. Plant Dis 96(1):4–17
Obidiegwu JE, Bryan GJ, Jones HG, Prashar A (2015) Coping with drought: stress and adaptive responses in potato and perspectives for improvement. Front Plant Sci 6:542
Oufir M, Legay S, Nicot N, Van Moer K, Hoffmann L, Renaut J, Evers D (2008) Gene expression in potato during cold exposure: changes in carbohydrate and polyamine metabolisms. Plant Sci 175(6):839–852
Pasche JS, Wharam CM, Gudmestad NC (2004) Shift in sensitivity of Alternaria Solani in response to QoI fungicides. Plant Dis 88:181–187
Pelletier JR, Fry WE (1989) Characterization of resistance to early blight in three potato cultivars: incubation period, lesion expansion rate, and spore production. Phytopathology 79(5):511–517
Rich AE (1983) Diseases caused by viruses, viroids, and mycoplasmas. Potato diseases. Academic press, New York, London, 92–135
Rodriguez DMA, Brommoschenekel SH, Matsuoka K, Misubuti E, S.G.( (2006) Components of resistance to early blight in four potato cultivars, effect of leaf position. J Phytopath 154(4):230–235
Rodriguez NV, Kowalski B, Rodriguez LG, Caraballoso JB, Suarez MA, Perez PO, Quintana CR, Gonzalez N, Romas RQ (2007) In vitro and ex vitro selection of potato pallets for resistance to early blight. J Phytopath 155(10):582–586
Rotem J (1965) The relation between the ratio of yield to foliage and the incidence of early blight in potato and tomato. Isr J Agric Res 15:115–122
Srivastava DK, Swarnkar K (2014) Antifungal activity of leaf extract of Neem (Azadirachta indica Linn). Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci 3(5):305–308
Suleiman SA, Simon S, Babychan M (2017) Effect of bioagents and their consortia in the management of early blight disease of potato. Int J Agric Innovations Res 5(3):495–498
Yadav R (2014) Eco-friendly management of early blight of potato caused by Alternaria solani. Research in Environment and Life.
Yadav R, Pathak SP (2011) Management of early blight of potatothrough fungicides and botanicals and bio agents. PlantArchives 11(2):1143–1145
Zaheer K, Akhtar MH (2016) Potato production, usage, and nutrition—a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 56(5):711–721
Author Information
Department of Agriculture, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University, Mullana, Ambala, India