Necrosis Gene-Based Monitoring and Control of Potato Scab Disease

The efficacy of a scab disease control technique that combined an antagonistic microorganism (Trichoderma asperellum strain F-288) and fertilization amelioration was examined by determining the incidence of scab disease and by using quantitative competitive quenching probe PCR (QCQP-PCR) to determine the copy number of the necl gene in soil. We conducted the necl gene analysis and a planter experiment with red-yellow soil specimens collected from the Shimabara Peninsula of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The results of the planter experiment suggested the possibility of inhibiting the development of potato scab disease using an antagonistic microorganism alone for soil with a low initial copy number of the necl gene, and using a combination of an antagonistic microorganism and fertilization amelioration for soil with a high initial copy number. We conducted research on the relationship between the copy number of necl in the soil and the concentration in soil of aqueous aluminum ions, an inhibitory agent of common scab disease in fertilization amelioration. The result suggested that the incidence of the disease could be reduced if the concentration of aqueous aluminum ions in the soil was 0.1 mg/L or more.