Potato cyst nematodes - a serious problem for the UK potato industry

摘要

In spite of the widespread use of an integrated management approach for the control of potato cyst nematodes Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis, they are currently the most important factor limiting the efficient production of potatoes in the UK. Current management strategies, which combine crop rotation, the use of nematicides and resistant cultivars, have allowed population densities to increase over the last 25 years. These strategies have also selected the more problematic species, G. pallida, from mixed populations. Granular nematicides are used on approximately 28,000 ha each year at a cost of over 8 million pound to growers. Crop rotation lengths vary, with the commonest being one in five. Longer rotations would be advantageous. Cultivars with resistance to G. rostochiensis represent approximately 43 percent of ware plantings but only 6 percent of plantings have even partial resistance to G. pallida. Growers now face a serious G. pallida problem, as crop rotation, resistant cultivars and granular nematicides are less effective against this species. Newer management techniques such as spatial application of fumigant and granular nematicides, trap cropping, genetically-modified resistant cultivars and biological control are all under investigation and may widen the future armoury of control tactics available for G. pallida.