LA SEMENCE INFECTEE, SOURCE D’INOCULUM DE LA TACHE ARGENTEE DANS LES SOLS AFFECTES A LA CULTURE DES POMMES DE TERRE
This study was carried out during three years on St. Pacôme loamy sand and on organic soil defined as a well-decomposed muck with shoots of healthy seed-potatoes and shoots of tubers infected with silver scurf. The disease-free shoots yielded very few infected potato tubers compared with infected shoots which yielded a high percentage of infected tubers. Results obtained on the loamy sand indicate that growing potatoes in the same field during several years does not induce the development of Helminthosporium atrovirens in the soil to the extent of becoming an important source of infection. Infected potato debris left over in the field from the preceding crops are a negligible source of inoculum compared with infected seed-potatoes which are considered the main source of infection.