Assessing potato cultivars for resistance to tuber soft rot ( Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica) at four test centres in the UK.

Tuber slices of 15 cultivars were inoculated with Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica on two occasions at four test centres and the results compared. Correlations in mean lesion diameter between inoculum concentrations, between the same test on different occasions, between centres and between cultivars in different tests were mostly significant in spite of small differences in procedure at each centre. Satisfactory agreement was reached between centres, particularly concerning the most resistant (Cara, Pentland Hawk) and most susceptible (Record, Wilja, Pentland Crown, King Edward) of the cultivars tested. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to results published elsewhere and to other methods of inoculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]