The Relative Importance of Precipitation and Sugar Content in Potato Peel for the Detection of the Incidence of Common Scab (Streptomyces scabies)

In the Japanese warm areas, as a result of intensive and repeated potato cropping, common scab, a soil-borne disease has become a serious problem. The soil moisture level has been shown to be an important factor affecting the incidence of common scab. That is, a high level of soil moisture reduces the severity of common scab. However, in this investigation, although during the spring cropping precipitation was abundant, a large number of tubers showing scab lesions were produced. The results indicate that the soil moisture level may not be an important factor affecting the incidence of potato scab in the humid region. To identify other factors which may affect scab severity, the relation between sugar content in the peel of potato tuber and the incidence of common scab was investigated. Generally, the amount of reducing sugar in the tuber peel increased gradually with the growth of the tubers, then reached a maximum level two weeks after the start of tuber formation, and thereafter declined. The period co...