The ring rot causative agent was found in potato samples from three farms in the Amur Region.
Potato samples were taken for PCR analysis in 7 farms of the region. In total, more than 1800 tons were analyzed. It should be noted that during a visual examination of the potato tubers used for the analysis, no symptoms of the disease were detected, which means the presence of the pathogen in a latent form.
In 2020, the branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Rosselkhoztsentr" in the Amur Region carried out studies of potatoes for infection with bacterial or viral pathogens - "Potato phytopathogens. DNA ”, namely for the presence of the ring rot pathogen Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. Sepedonicus (Cms). The results of the analysis showed that out of 1872 tons of examined potatoes, the causative agent of ring rot was found in 515 tons.
Ring rot of potatoes, a systemic disease caused by a gram-positive bacterium, is one of the most common and harmful bacteriosis. Typical symptoms of the disease are wilting of the aerial part of the plant and ring rot of tubers, as a result of which the loss of potato yield in some years can be up to 50%.
This disease occurs on 5 continents, in more than 30 countries around the world. The causative agent of the disease is an object of international quarantine control and is included in the A2 list of the European Plant Protection Organization. Currently, there is a tendency towards the progressive spread of this bacteriosis, including in the territory of the Russian Federation. Despite this, the mechanisms of ring rot pathogenesis have not been adequately studied. The problem is further complicated by the fact that Cms is characterized by latent stages of the disease, during which infected plants do not have pronounced symptoms, and infected tubers do not visually differ from healthy ones.