The Effect of Micronutrients on Potato Tubers Colonized by Nematodes Ditylenchus Destructor in Artificial Infection

Potatoes in our country are a vegetable crop of strategic importance. The merit of this vegetable is in its multifaceted use. But there are no potato varieties resistant to the potato tuber nematode yet. The potential is in biological and biochemical characteristics of varieties in addition to various mineral nutrition. The experiment studied the effect of various micronutrients on increasing the resistance of Gala potato plants to phytoparasitic nematodes Ditylenchus destructor during artificial infection of the apical tuber segments. Standard micronutrient chelated solutions (B10,1%K2 O44%; Ca10%; Cu15%; Fe11%; Mn13%; Zn15%) for experiments were prepared in concentrations as recommended by the manufacturer. Shallow scalpel incisions were made on the surface of each segment and a Ditylenchus destructor suspension was instilled into the incision. The segments wetted with the standard solutions were put in plastic lidded containers to preserve humidity. The variants were labeled and left for 20 days. The control variant was sprayed with clean water. At 20 days that were enough for nematode colonization in potato slices, the tuber segments and nematode populations therein were examined. The result of the Ditylenchus destructor development in the potato segments with the use of micronutrients showed that the least nematodes were observed in the variants treated with copper chelate (EDTA-Cu15%) and iron chelate (Fe11%). Slightly more of them were in the variant with potassium metaborate (B10,1%K2 O44%). The remaining experiment variants and the control variant had the largest number of nematodes and their larvae.