Testing thiamin as an immunity inducer against bacterial and fungal pathogens in potato

View the project report

Commodities

• Agronomic: potatoes

Practices

• Crop Production: other
• Education and Training: extension, networking, on-farm/ranch research
• Pest Management: chemical control
• Production Systems: organic agriculture
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life, sustainability measures

Every year potato producers lose approximately 17% of their yield due to plant pathogenic microorganisms. Potato is the fourth most important staple food crop in the world and accounts for a nearly $2 billion dollar industry in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho alone. To combat this loss, farmers may rely on a combination of control methods such as pesticides application, cultural practices, and planting of disease-free certified seeds and, when available, resistant cultivars. However, for some pathogens, these control methods are either unavailable, inadequate, or unsustainable. Therefore, new control methods are needed. Thiamin, also known as vitamin B1, a compound naturally produced by plants, can prime plants when externally applied to foliage, enabling plants to respond more rapidly and/or more robustly to pathogens and thus annihilating or limiting disease. However, besides one study on potato virus Y, the priming effect of thiamin has never been tested in potato. Therefore, in this project, I propose to test the effectiveness of thiamin priming application on potato against bacterial (Streptomyces and Pectobacterium) and fungal (Alternaria solani) pathogens. The experiments will be done in greenhouses as well as in the fields of an Oregon organic producer, Rainshadow Organics, who has recently experienced severe losses due to potato soil bacterial pathogens. I also plan to educate the agricultural community on the priming effects of vitamins through presentations at extension events and publications in extension and scientific journals. If successful, the adoption of this practice will provide a safe alternative tool for plant protection against pathogens.

Objective #1: Test the effectiveness of thiamin priming treatments against bacterial pathogens in potato

Sub-objective #1: Evaluation of the effect of thiamin treatment on potato tuber susceptibility to Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp.carotovorum-induced soft rot

Sub-Objective #2: Evaluation of the effect of thiamin treatment on potato susceptibility to Streptomyces scabies-induced common scab in the greenhouse.

Sub-objective #3: Evaluation of the effect of thiamin treatment on potato susceptibility to Streptomyces sp.-induced common scab in the field

Objective #2: Test the effectiveness of thiamin priming treatments against a fungal pathogen in potato

Objective 3: Educate the agricultural industry on vitamin-induced priming through presentations at extension events, publications in extension and scientific journals, and through social media

Sub-objective #1: Present research results to producers/stakeholders and academic and industry scientists through presentations at scientific and extension meetings

Sub-objective #2: Publish papers/articles in scientific peer-reviewed journals, extension newsletters, and trade journals

Sub-objective #3: Post research updates on social media and our lab webpage