Testing for wart resistance in Ukraine¹

Abstract

The development of potato wart testing at the Ukrainian Plant Quarantine Research Institute is reviewed from the first appearance of wart disease in the 1930s, through the period of breeding of cultivars with resistance to pathotype 1, to the detection of new aggressive pathotypes requiring further tests for multiple wart resistance, and finally to the operation of the Station in independent Ukraine. Wart testing in Ukraine involves two phases, preliminary laboratory testing (by standard methods) and official testing of cultivars in the field. The regulatory basis of wart testing in Ukraine is outlined. This includes testing of Ukrainian‐bred material and of material introduced, for research and breeding or for production, from other countries. The possibilities for breeding cultivars with multiple wart resistance are assessed.

Managing potato wart: a review of present research status and future perspective

“…Wart resistance testing is done under field or greenhouse conditions to complement the laboratory bioassays. Poland, Germany, England, Hungary, The Netherlands, Scotland, and Norway limit testing to laboratory conditions while Finland and Northern Ireland carry out field tests (Malakhanova et al 1998 ). Zakopal ( 1950b ) stated that laboratory tests indicating different biotypes of S. endobioticum are unreliable and should be supported by comparative field evaluation is diverse geographical sites.…”