Verbreitung der bakteriellen Ringfäule der Kartoffel (Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus) durch kontaminierte Lagerkisten

In field trials performed by the Institute for Plant Protection of the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture (LfL) in Freising in 2001 and 2002, it was studied, whether Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus (Cms), the bacterial ring rot pathogen of potato, could be transmitted to seed potatoes by the use of contaminated crates. Healthy seed tubers were brought into contact with Cms before planting by (i) storage in freshly contaminated crates at 8°C for 4 weeks, (ii) storage at unregulated cellar temperature (between 1 and 15°C) for 8 months in crates, which were already contaminated and empty at filling time for 5 months and (iii) storage in freshly contaminated crates at 4°C for 5 months. Infections of stems and tubers of the plants were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and indirect immunofluorescence antibody staining (IFAS). Storage of healthy tubers in contaminated crates produced infected plants in all three treatments: PCR results of the tubers were positive in 2 (ii) to 9% (i) of the plants. © Springer- Verlag 2004.