Effect of some Environmental Factors on Potato Bacterial Soft Rot

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the third most important food crop of the world after wheat and rice. The aim of study to evaluate effect of some environmental (pH values, temperatures and relative humidity) on the growth and severity of bacterial soft rot. In vitro, the growth of three isolates of Pectobacterium carotovorum p.v. carotovorum were affected with different pH values and rate the growth tested isolates were the most increasing with 7.0 and 7.5 pH values. While rate the growth tested bacterial isolates increased with increasing temperatures and the best rate the growth was recorded on 30, 26 and 34°????. Under artificial inoculation conditions, severity of potato bacterial soft rot disease increased with increasing temperatures and was the most severed with 34, 30 and 26°???? temperatures. Also, severity of potato bacterial soft rot disease increased with increasing relative humidity (RH) at 90 and 100% RH potato tubers were totally rotted.