The bacterial wilt burden in the seed potato system in Ethiopia: a case of Oromia and Southern Nations’ regions

• Published in: Indian phytopathology Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 843 - 848
• Main Authors: Tessema, Lemma, Kakuhenzire, Rogers, Seid, Ebrahim, Negash, Kasaye, McEwan, Margaret
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01-09-2024
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Life Sciences; Plant Pathology; Short Communication; QDS; Bacterial wilt infection burden; Latent bacterial wilt; Seed system
• ISSN: 0367-973X; 2248-9800
• DOI: 10.1007/s42360-024-00761-x

The productivity of potatoes is constrained by many diseases, and bacterial wilt caused by
Ralstonia solanacearum
(Rs) is among the major production bottlenecks. Considering this, latent
Rs
assessment was conducted in Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples` (SNNP) regions, Ethiopia, in October 2021, focusing on seed potatoes to determine the disease prevalence. Samples between 25 and 250 tubers per field were collected depending on the field size adjusted for the standard of 250 tubers per hectare and detected for latent
Rs
infection following a standard NCM-ELISA protocol. Assessment results indicated that 26.4% of analyzed samples were latently infected with
Rs
. However, infection was higher in the SNPP (39.6%) than in the Oromia (23.1%) region. Therefore, if these potato crops are passed as suitable for quality seed based on visual assessment alone as is the current quality declared seed protocol in Ethiopia, it is a means to further spread of
Rs
infection.