Chemical Eradication of the Ring Rot Bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus on Potato Storage Crates

Abstract

Four commercially available disinfection products were tested for their efficacy against Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus (Cms), causative agent of bacterial ring rot, on wooden potato storage crates. Each of these products represented a different class of biocide, i.e. organic acids (benzoic acid), peroxygenous compounds (potassium peroxysulfate), quaternary ammonium compounds (didecyldimethylammoniumchloride) and hypochlorite-generating compounds (sodium-p-toluenesulfochloramide). The target objects consisted of small wooden panels that were smeared with potato tuber pulp homogenized with a high inoculum of Cms. By dipping the inoculated panels into the product solutions and subsequent determination of the densities of colony-forming units, the relative efficacy of the products was established. The two products that exhibited the highest relative efficacy were studied for their disinfection performance when applied as cleaning agent in a conventional automated crate washer. The results showed that jet cleaning in a crate washer for 2 min using the authorised dose of the product containing sodium-p-toluenesulfochloramide is an effective method for disinfecting Cms-contaminated wooden potato crates.

Chemical Disinfection of Potato Cutting Machinery to Avoid Dissemination of Clavibacter sepedonicus

“…Hygiene protocols advocate the removal of plant material and soil in advance of the disinfection step (Anonymous 2006;Olsen and Nolte 2011). In previous research, a powerful washing to remove dirt and to break up the biofilm present before application of Halamid has been shown effective to disinfect wooden potato crates (Stevens et al 2017). We therefore expect that a cleaning step before treatment with a biocide will also be effective to disinfect seed cutters.…”

“…Therefore, the efficacy of the disinfection procedure with the biocide Halamid was tested on Cs biofilms applied to clean objects as well as on Cs biofilms applied to objects that were provided with a standard layer of potato starch and talc powder. In previous studies, Halamid, a hypochlorite-generating compound (sodium-p-toluenesulfochloramide), was able to disinfect wooden potato crates contaminated with a homogenized potato tuber pulp in 2 min using a jet cleaner (Stevens et al 2017). It was shown more effective than three other biocides, didecyldimethylammoniumchloride, benzoic acid and peroxysulfate.…”

Starch‐capped sulphur nanoparticles synthesised from bulk powder sulphur and their anti‐phytopathogenic activity against Clavibacter sepedonicus

“…These water‐soluble, low‐toxic nanomaterials can be used in biology, medicine, agriculture, and in particular to fight the bacterial phytopathogen Clavibacter michiganensis sepedonicus (Cms) that causes potato ring rot [ 31 ]. Each year this phytopathogen destroys up to 60% of potato crop [ 32 ]. To date, there are no effective and safe means for humans and animals to fight Cms .…”

Reaction of selected potato varieties to Clavibacter sepedonicus infestation under changing weather conditions

“…Much more important factors relating to the severity of the occurrence and spread of the disease are agrotechnical aspects. The use of clean equipment at every stage of production (Nelson 1980;Howard et al 2015;Stevens et al 2017), compliance with phytosanitary regulations (EC 1993), the use of healthy, certified seed potatoes play a fundamental role in preventing the disease. While the practice of cutting seed potatoes is common in North America, in Europe the practice of cutting seeds before planting is increasingly rare and unacceptable with the current state of knowledge (Van der Wolf et al 2005;Nolte et al 2020).…”