Occurrence of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (CLso) was studied in field-grown carrots (Daucus carota) in different regions of Finland. In addition, the frequency of CLso in carrots and in field populations of its vector, the carrot psyllid (Trioza apicalis), was studied in southwestern Finland. CLso was detected in six of the seven regions where the main carrot cultivation areas are located. The highest disease incidence was found in southwestern Finland, in the area where this carrot pathogen was originally found. In the Tavastia Proper and Southwest Finland regions, CLso was detected in 26 out of 30 randomly chosen fields inspected in 2013 and 2014, and in a third of those fields more than 10% of plants showed symptoms. Of those carrots showing both psyllid feeding-associated leaf curling and CLso infection-associated leaf discolouration symptoms, 77% were CLso positive in the PCR test. Some symptomless carrots from the affected fields also tested positive. Of the carrot psyllid individuals collected from the same area, 60% were CLso positive. Elsewhere, disease incidence was variable in South Ostrobothnia in western Finland and low but established in South Savonia in eastern Finland. CLso was not detected in the North Ostrobothnia region. Sequencing of the amplified DNA fragments confirmed that the bacteria in the carrot samples from different areas within Finland all represented CLso haplotype C. The frequent occurrence and wide distribution of this pathogen, transmitted by a psyllid that does not migrate over long distances, suggest that it is persistent in Finland.

Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (CLso) haplotype C, a bacterial pathogen transmitted by the carrot psyllid Trioza apicalis, causes yield losses in carrot production. Due to concerns that this pathogen might also threaten potato (Solanum tuberosum) production, the occurrence of CLso in cultivated and volunteer potatoes in Tavastia Proper and Satakunta regions of Finland was studied. Volunteer potato plants were found in 13 of the 27 inspected carrot fields. Of the 148 potato samples tested by PCR, eight volunteer potato plants and one cultivated potato grown at the edge of a carrot field were found CLso positive. The PCR products obtained from these potatoes with primers OA2/OI2c, LpFrag4-1611F/LpFrag4-480R and CL514F/CL514R all showed 100% sequence identity to CLso haplotype C. This is the first observation of CLso haplotype C in field-grown potatoes. In addition, transmission experiments were performed. Attempts to transmit CLso into potato with carrot psyllids were not successful; however, CLso haplotype C was transmitted from infected carrots to potato plants by leaf grafting and by phloem connection formed by dodder, a parasitic plant, and found to survive in the potato plants for several weeks after transmission. However, the bacterial colonization progressed slowly in the potato phloem, and the amount of bacteria detected was low. The plants produced from the daughter tubers of the CLso positive potato plants were all CLso negative, suggesting that CLso haplotype C was not able to pass to the daughter plants. None of the CLso positive potatoes inoculated in greenhouse or collected from fields showed symptoms characteristic of zebra chip disease, associated with CLso haplotypes A and B.

Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin, is a serious plant disease of cruciferous plants. A field survey of occurrence of clubroot in oilseed fields was conducted in Finland in 2007−2009 and in 1984−1989. At present, the disease is distributed throughout the oilseed cultivation area. Clubroot was found on average from 30% of fields, but its severity was low; fields with high numbers of infected plants and plants with severe symptoms were rare. According to the survey, cultivation frequency of cruciferous plants is the most important factor affecting clubroot occurrence and severity. Clubroot was found in soils with a wide range of pH-values (pH 5-7.6), but symptoms were most severe at low pH. According to the survey, and greenhouse and field trials, high temperature and moisture during the early growth period seem to favour disease development and can cause significant yield losses. In a survival trial, clubroot declined to close to zero after four years in the absence of host plants, but traces of the pathogen were still detectable after a 19-year trial period, making eradication of the pathogen very difficult.

Potato fields in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were sampled for single-lesion isolates of Phytophthora infestans . The aggressiveness of the isolates was determined on detached leaflets of potato cvs Bintje (susceptible) and Matilda (moderately resistant). The aggressiveness tests were carried out in the respective home countries of the isolates, with the exception of the Danish isolates. Fifteen Danish isolates were studied in each of the other three countries, including five isolates tested in all three laboratories. Results obtained from the Danish isolates revealed substantial differences between the test laboratories for infection efficiency, lesion growth rate and sporulation capacity on detached leaflets. When the laboratory effect was taken into account, the differences in aggressiveness between the countries were generally small or inconsistent between the test cultivars and epidemiologically insignificant. By contrast, variation among isolates within countries was substantial. The magnitude of the variation depended on country and cultivar. Maximal variation for the means of the isolates was between 89 and 185 h for latent period, between 100 and 1297 sporangia mm − 2 for sporulation capacity and between nearly zero and 6 mm day − 1 for lesion growth rate. Typically less than 1% of sporangia were able to cause infections, except in Norway. These extraordinarily low values may be an artefact of the testing method. High variation in results between the test laboratories emphasizes the need for caution when comparing results obtained by different research groups.