Potato Zebra Chip: An Overview of the Disease, Control Strategies, and Prospects
Victoria Mora, Manikandan Ramasamy, Mona B. Damaj, Sonia Irigoyen, Veronica Ancona, Freddy Ibáñez, Carlos A. Avila, Kranthi K. Mandadi
Abstract
Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important food crop worldwide. As the demand for fresh and processed potato products is increasing globally, there is a need to manage and control devastating diseases such as zebra chip (ZC). ZC disease causes major yield losses in many potato-growing regions and is associated with the fastidious, phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum ( C Lso) that is vectored by the potato-tomato psyllid ( Bactericera cockerelli Šulc). Current management measures for ZC disease mainly focus on chemical control and integrated pest management strategies of the psyllid vector to limit the spread of C Lso, however, they add to the costs of potato production. Identification and deployment of C Lso and/or the psyllid resistant cultivars, in combination with integrated pest management, may provide a sustainable long-term strategy to control ZC. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the ZC disease, epidemiology, current management strategies, and potential new approaches to manage ZC disease in the future.