Resistance and tolerance of potato varieties to potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) and stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci)

Ditylenchus destructor and Ditylenchus dipsaci are economically important plant-parasitic nematodes, affecting potato production mostly in temperate climates. Management through crop rotation is not feasible because of their wide host range. These nematodes are listed as quarantine pests in many countries. Limited information exists on the resistance and tolerance of currently cultivated potatoes to D. destructor and D. dipsaci. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to screen 25 potato varieties for resistance to and tolerance for D. destructor and D. dipsaci infections. Reproduction factor (RF) and relative susceptibility (RS) were used to evaluate resistance, while potato tuber damage and tuber weight reduction was used to evaluate tolerance. Based on the RF, 16 varieties were evaluated as susceptible (S) while 5 varieties were evaluated as resistant (R) to D. destructor; varieties ‘Innovator’, ‘Aveka’ and ‘Spunta’ were resistant to D. dipsaci based on RF. ‘Désirée’ was observed to be highly susceptible to D. destructor and D. dipsaci in both experiments and was used as the standard susceptible control variety for the calculation of RS. A scale of 1–9 was used to classify RS of the potato varieties to D. destructor and D. dipsaci, where 9 indicated the highest level of resistance. All classes of resistance to D. destructor and D. dipsaci were observed in the potato varieties tested in the experiments. Six varieties had significantly lower RS to D. dipsaci than the standard susceptible control variety. Tolerant to highly sensitive potato varieties to both nematodes were also observed. RS and external potato tuber damage were identified as suitable methods for resistance and tolerance determination, respectively. This study provides essential information on the status of resistance and tolerance in potato varieties against D. destructor and D. dipsaci but needs to be confirmed under field conditions.