Thecaphora solani. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].
Abstract A description is provided for Thecaphora solani. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Species of Solanum, including S. tuberosum, S. andigenum and S. stoloniferum; found on clones of S. ajanhuiri, S. curtilobum, S. chaucha, S. goniocalyx, S. phureja, S. stenotomum and S. tuberosum subsp. andigena in the Potato Germ Plasm Bank, Peru (59, 2318); also on Lycopersicon.DISEASE: Potato smut. Infection normally commences in meristematic regions in young shoots, underground portions of stems (commonly at the base of a stem, where it joins the roots), stolons and eventually in tubers, and the resultant galls increase in size throughout the growing season (59, 5337). In tomato plants, hypertrophy and gall formation occur at the junction of stems and roots. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: North America: Mexico. South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela. See CMI Distribution Map 214 (ed. 2, 1967). TRANSMISSION: By infected tubers, also soilborne, the ustilospores released into soil by disintegration of infected plant parts and surviving there.