Potato Pathology Programme

The primary research focus of the Potato Pathology Programme is the epidemiology, diagnosis and control of soil- and seed-borne diseases of potatoes. Diseases currently being investigated in this research programme include powdery scab (Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea), black scurf and stem canker (Rhizoctonia solani), and blackleg and soft rot (Pectobacterium and Dickeya spp.). Soil and seed-borne pathogens are among the most limiting factors in the production of potatoes and thus the main focus of the Potato Pathology Programme @ UP is understanding these pathogens and epidemiology of the diseases in order to improve management in the field. In order to do this, various techniques are combined to better understand disease spread and development in the field, interaction of host and pathogen, and ultimately use this information to provide growers with a risk assessment for the disease under consideration. 

New Publications

Theron E, Bophela KN, Bisschoff J, Shin G, Coutinho TA, Van der Waals JE. (2022) Survey of Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae Infecting Potatoes in South Africa. Potato Research 10.1007/s11540-022-09598-1
Khanal M, Timilsina S, Bhatta BP, Bophela K, Coutinho T, Cochran K, Malla S. (2022) Pseudomonas uvaldensis sp. nov., a bacterial pathogen causing onion bulb rot. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 72(4) 10.1099/ijsem.0.005311
Mushonga K, Steyn JM, Swart WJ, van der Waals JE. (2020) Plant-soil feedback responses of four dryland crop species under greenhouse conditions. Plant-Environment Interactions 10.1002/pei3.10035 PDF
van der Waals JE, Kruger K. (2020) Emerging potato pathogens affecting food security in southern Africa: Recent research. South African Journal of Science 116(11/12) 10.17159/ PDF
Moleboheng M, Modisane KJ, Apostolides Z, van der Waals JE. (2020) Metabolomic Fingerprinting of Potato Cultivars Differing in Susceptibility to Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea Root Infection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21:3788. 10.3390/ijms21113788 PDF
Simango K, Slabbert C, van der Waals JE. (2020) Alternative hosts of Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea in southern Africa. European Journal of Plant Pathology In Press 10.1007/s10658-020-01993-z
Khumbuzile Bophela, Yolanda Petersen, Carolee Theresa Bull, Teresa Ann Coutinho. (2019) Identification of Pseudomonas isolates associated with bacterial canker of stone fruit trees in the Western Cape, South Africa. Plant Disease 10.1094/PDIS-05-19-1102-RE
Bophela KN, Venter SN, Wingfield MJ, Duran A, Tarigan M, Coutinho TA. (2019) Xanthomonas perforans: A tomato and pepper pathogen associated with bacterial blight and dieback of Eucalyptus pellita seedlings in Indonesia. . Australasian Plant Pathology 10.1007/s13313-019-00657-9 PDF
Mbedzi PP, Van den Hooven L, Vorster BJ , Van der Waals J. (2019) Screening for Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistance using detached leaf assays and simple sequence repeat markers in soybean cultivars. Crop Protection 215:104909. 10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104909 PDF
Shutt VM, Shin G, van der Waals JE, Goszczynska T, Coutinho T. (2018) Characterization of Ralstonia strains infecting tomato plants in South Africa. Crop Protection 112:56-62. 10.1016/j.cropro.2018.05.013