Genetic Diversity of Potato Late Blight in Nepal

In Nepal, potato is grown under diversified agro-ecologies, soil fertilities and input conditions, which has resulted in the crop being grown and freshly available year-round. However, potato productivity is relatively low in the country and one reason is potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans. This disease causes millions of dollars of damage every year. Fungicides are generally used to combat the problem, but the most economical and durable way to manage it is with resistant potato varieties. A problem here is that the pathogen population is very changing regularly. This book reports on research done in Nepal to address these problems. First, experimental varieties were tested in the greenhouse and in multiple locations in the field to measure and catalog their levels of resistance. Second, pathogen isolates were analyzed genetically, which showed that the pathogen population in Nepal is actually identical to one of the more destructive lineages from Europe. Finally, fungicide application regimes were developed that incorporate the knowledge of the host and pathogen. This book will help in understanding status of potato late blight P. infestans in Nepal.