Agriculture

Innovative fungicide with additive effect protects popular tubers

Head start
for young potatoes
Danger lurks as soon as the first sprouts emerge from the tuber: the fungus Rhizoctonia solani causes consid-
erable harvest losses and also covers any potatoes that do reach maturity with dark patches. Researchers at
Bayer CropScience have now developed a new active substance which provides seed potatoes with an effective
protective coating, promotes plant growth and thus increases the market value.

Appearances are important – even to achieve ever higher standards. No shapen or no tubers. The evidence can
16 when it comes to choosing potatoes. matter whether they are small round be seen under the electron microscope:
Wrinkled areas, black patches and dif- tubers with a pale skin or large oblong the fungal hyphae position themselves
Potatoes

ferent sizes may be irrelevant in terms
of human health, but our standards for
these popular tubers have risen consid-
erably in recent years. “Food retailers
are becoming more discerning. Con-
sumers prefer evenly shaped potatoes
whose skins are free from fungi and
other diseases,” explains Albert Schir-
ring, Segment Manager for Potatoes &
Vegetables at Bayer CropScience. Mar-
tin Stothard can also confirm Schirring’s
verdict. The Senior Field Services Man-
ager of major British potato producer
Branston rolls one oval tuber after
another like a ball between his thumb
and forefinger. He scrutinizes the new
harvest for blemishes. Quality require-
ments for this popular crop are rising,
and not just in the United Kingdom –
potato farmers worldwide are expected
potatoes suitable for processing into
French fries and chips; the potato is the
third most important crop in the world
after wheat and rice.
Rising standards demand
flexibility from farmers
Particularly when buying “raw mate-
rials” for finished products such as
dumplings or puree – which even in
the rice strongholds of Asia are becom-
ing increasingly popular – processors
want evenly shaped tubers. “The grow-
ing expectations require farmers to be
completely flexible,” says Karl-Wilhelm
Münks, project leader at Bayer Crop-
Science in Monheim. “Seed potato
growers really have to identify trends
two years in advance and respond
accordingly.” Even so, the most sophis-
ticated planning can quickly come to
naught if tiny fungal hyphae strike.
“The fungal pest Rhizoctonia solani
affects potatoes even in the early stage
of growth, initially targeting the young
mainly around the sprouting parts of
the potato – what are known as the
eyes. “From there, the fungus attacks
the fresh sprouts directly, inhibiting
their growth,” says Suty-Heinze. The
tuber then invests all its energy into
its remaining sprouts, with the result
that the other potatoes are larger than
wanted.
But there’s more: Rhizoctonia also
strikes for a second time during the
potato season. The hyphae remain on
the surface of the newly grown tubers
and cover them with black crusts. “This
is not only a cosmetic problem, but also
harbors the risk of transmitting the
disease to the next potato generation
and to other fields,” explains Münks.
He therefore recommends that farmers
should allow a break of several years
between potato crops. “So Rhizocto-
nia infestation means a reduced yield
– and also fewer tubers which meet
the requirements of the food indus-
try in terms of size and skin quality,”
he says. His colleagues in Research
Photos: Sabine Bungert/Bayer AG (4), Bayer CropScience/Bayer AG, Scottish Agronomy

plants,” explains Anne Suty-Heinze, a have therefore responded to the chal-

crop protection researcher at Bayer lenge. In 2002, Suty-Heinze and her
CropScience. Affected sprouts then have team heard from research colleagues
brown patches, wither and form mis- in Japan about a new active substance

Harvest time: only a few potatoes are sold straight away. Most of them are first stored for
­several months. During this time, they may become infected by fungi. Karl-Wilhelm Münks
(photo, right) and Anne Suty-Heinze work with young potato plants in the greenhouse with
the aim of developing a new product to strengthen the maturing potatoes and protect them
against fungal infestation.
Bayer research _ 24
17
 Potatoes under the microscope: while biology lab assistant Simone Leonard and Dr. Friedrich Kerz-Möhlendick (photo, left)
study plant and fungal tissue under the microscope, Karl-Wilhelm Münks (photo, right) inspects the mature tubers in the
greenhouse, as the fungus Rhizoctonia solani leaves visible symptoms – dark patches – on the skin.
18
Potatoes

that could have an effect on the fungal
pest Rhizoctonia: penflufen, an active
substance for seed treatment. “Potatoes
that have been treated with it have a
clear head start,” explains Suty-Heinze.
Seed potatoes treated with penflufen –
the process is known in technical terms
as seed dressing – get the newly devel-
oped active substance evenly distributed
all over the tubers, providing optimum
protection for the young sprouts.
Tests clearly show that penflufen is
distributed locally beneath the ground
in the tuber and on the sprouts. “This
is different to other active substances
which are quickly distributed systemi-
cally via the xylem – the pathways by
which nutrients are carried through
the plants – and therefore also reach
the parts above the ground,” explains
Suty-Heinze. As a result, only very tiny
amounts of active substance are needed,
as they remain precisely where they are
needed to protect the young tubers.

Major potato producers around the globe

Potatoes are grown in more than one hundred countries. The map of the world shows the most important producers on the individual
continents (in millions of tons). As potato production requires relatively small amounts of water (right), this crop could help us safeguard the
world’s food supply. 5,000
31.1
Russian Federation 73.2 Water consumption in
China liters for production of one
19.7
4.9 11.6 Ukraine kilogram of food
Canada Germany

19.6 2.6 1,800

United States Algeria
4.0 1,300
2.3 34.4 5.3
Colombia Egypt 900
India Bangladesh 700

3.7 1.8
Peru South Africa
3.4 Apples Potatoes Wheat Soybeans Cheese
Brazil

Source: FAOSTAT 2011, UNESCO-IHE for Water Education, Water Footprint Network

Successful, all-over protection: Ute Peter and Ansgar Flammersfeld inspect a freshly dressed
seed potato which has been evenly coated with the active ingredient. The preventive pesti-
cide treatment is designed to protect young sprouts effectively against fungal infestation.
The fungicide acts specifically on fun-
gal cell organelles called mitochondria,
the power houses of fungal cells. “The
active substance binds to an impor-
tant enzyme complex in the respiratory
chain of the fungi known as succinate
dehydrogenase, inhibiting its function,”
explains Suty-Heinze. Penflufen thus
stops the fungi from “breathing” and
hence converting sugar into chemical
energy.
Additional effects on plant
vitality statistically confirmed
During the course of their experiments,
Suty-Heinze and her team have not
only observed effects on the Rhizoc-
tonia fungus, however. “We have seen
that penflufen is also useful against
the disease known as silver scurf,
which is caused by Helminthosporium
solani.” The spores of this fungus are
transmitted from tuber to tuber, with
symptoms appearing during stor-
age: silver blemishes on the surface
of the skin. The fungi digest the skin,
destroying the protective cover of the
tubers. “Water loss then leads to shriv-
eled tubers which are difficult to sell,”
explains Stothard. As he and his col-
leagues around the world also have
to deal with other pests and diseases,
the Bayer CropScience potato team has
developed other penflufen-based prod-
ucts for seed treatment with suitable
active ingredient combinations.
However, not only does the new
active ingredient provide the tubers
with a protective coating, it also gives
them additional powers. Plants treated
with it grow more quickly and also have
larger, stronger sprouts. Suty-Heinze’s
colleagues in the United States have
also observed the effect in trials in
crops such as soy and corn. All this is
also backed up by statistics: “The addi-
tive effect is no coincidence,” explains
Dr. Friedrich Kerz-Möhlendick, who is
responsible for scientific product sup-
port at Bayer CropScience. He and his
team are currently engaged in research
to elucidate the effect of penflufen on
plant cells. The work on penflufen goes
on – helping to boost the vitality of
potatoes and other crops.
www.bayer.com/research/potatoes
More information on this subject
?
Agriculture
Interview
“Harvest early, store
in a cool place”
Eric Anderson is Senior Agronomist at Scottish
Agronomy, an agricultural cooperative. He has
first-hand experience of the everyday challenges 19
facing potato growers.
Bayer research _ 24
Why does a fungus like Rhizoctonia pose such a
threat to potato growers?
Rhizoctonia solani is seed- and soil-borne. It is com-
monly found to persist in many soils – although inoc-
ulum is usually higher in lighter textured soils and
where potatoes are grown in short rotation. It causes
a range of symptoms on the potato plant including
delayed emergence, reduced yields due to rot and
quality losses when the black scurf develops on tubers.
What other diseases can affect potato harvests
in storage?
Amongst others, silver scurf and black dot. Both fungi
cause lesions that look very similar, especially in the
early stages of disease development: gray to silvery
blotches and dark brown-gray blemishes on the tuber
surface. The challenge is that symptom expression
usually lags several weeks behind infection. As the
infection progresses, the lesions usually become more
prominent. Black dot has become a major problem in
pre-pack potatoes – they look unappealing to con-
sumers. An early harvest will minimize tuber infec-
tion. Holding tubers in cold storage delays symptom
expression as well.
What factors does a farmer have to bear in mind
when he decides to grow potatoes?
A continued challenge for potato growers is the sup-
ply of contracted potatoes to packers and processors
at prices and production costs that provide reason-
able profits. To minimize risk you should really clearly
define what kind of potatoes you want to grow –
table, processing or seed potatoes. To get a better
understanding of your potato-growing costs, you
should consider changing your growing systems and
take customer expectations into account.