Study identifies causes of potato dry rot in Colorado

Potato dry rot leads to significant losses during storage and postharvest handling, making management of this disease critically important for potato farmers. Colorado State University researchers in the San Luis Valley – one of the top regions for potato production in the U.S. – have identified multiple fungal species causing dry rot in Colorado.

By analyzing structural and molecular features, plant pathologists at CSU’s San Luis Valley Research Center identified four Fusarium species associated with potato dry rot in the valley – including one that hadn’t previously been found in the U.S. Their findings, published in January in Plant Disease, will help: improve disease diagnosis and monitoring in potato storage systems; support development of targeted management strategies; guide cultivar selection and breeding for disease resistance; and provide important information for growers, storage managers and researchers working on potato disease management.

“Identifying the specific species present is essential because different Fusarium species vary in aggressiveness, epidemiology and response to management practices,” said lead author Hafiz M. Usman Aslam, who completed the research as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Associate Professor Mohamad Chikh-Ali. "This study contributes to a better understanding of the pathogens responsible for potato dry rot in the San Luis Valley, helping protect the sustainability and economic viability of potato production in Colorado.”