Project details
Status: Current
At a glance
- Pink rot is a serious global soil borne disease of potatoes that causes rapid rotting of tubers in ground and in storage.
- Growers are challenged by less effective chemical controls, high pathogen levels in many potato growing soils and the persistence of pink rot disease in soil.
- This research is investigating the factors that trigger pink rot infection and promote disease development. The study will assess the environmental factors including alternate hosts that affect disease survival and persistence in soil.
About the project
Pink rot disease due to Phytophthora erythroseptica infection presents a suite of challenges to the potato industry. Field testing is unreliable, chemical controls are less effective and the disease persists in the soil for up to seven years. Pink rot disease causes yield loss in the field and post-harvest in storage.
This project aims to address the challenges associated with pink rot disease management and disease persistence in the soil by determining:
- The role of alternate hosts (rotation crops, cover crops, pasture species, weeds) in maintaining a soilborne inoculum of pink rot between commercial potato crop rotations.
- The relative resistance of different potato cultivars to infection and disease expression both in the field and during post-harvest storage.
Pink Rot Project Update, Potato Link Magazine (Issue 7, Summer 2022)
Pink Rot Factsheet, Potato Link (October 2021)
Pink Rot Factsheet, Soil Wealth (April 2020)
Pink Rot webinar, Potato Link (10 November 2022)
Potato R&D forum 2021, including Pink Rot research update
Related stories
For more information contact:
Prof Calum Wilson | calum.wilson@utas.edu.au
Ronika Thap | PhD candate | ronika.thapa@utas.edu.au
Acknowledgements:
Sustainably growing horticulture value in cool climate Australia’ (AS20004) is funded through Frontiers developed by Hort Innovation, with coinvestment from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Simplot, Premium Fresh, Bejo, Potatoes New Zealand, The Scottish Society of Plant Research and contributions from the Australian Government and contributions from the Australian Government.