Bacterial diseases of potato: relevance to in vitro potato seed production

The potato crop has several economically important bacterial pathogens incl uding the soft rot Erwinia spp., the brown rot pathogen Ralstonia solanacea rum, the ring rot pathogen Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus and the scab forming Streptomyces spp. Their biology, control and diagnosis ar e discussed in relation to the micropropagation industry. Pathogen indexing of microplants and high grade seed potatoes e.g. mini-tubers, derived from them is likely to became increasingly important as a method of control of some if not all these pathogens.