Pratylenchus penetrans Population Dynamics on Three Potato Cultivars

Reproduction of Pratylenchus penetrans on the potato cultivars Hudson, Katahdin, and Superior was determined in greenhouse and field microplot experiments. Although all three cultivars were good hosts for P. penetrans, differences in reproductive rate were found. In one greenhouse experiment, Katahdin plants inoculated with 1,500 or 15,000 P. penetrans per pot had larger population densities at harvest than did Superior; however differences between these cultivars were not significant in three other greenhouse experiments. In another experiment, population densities of P. penetrans on Hudson did not differ from those on Katahdin and Superior when inoculated with 270 and 5,080 nematodes per pot after 45 days in the greenhouse. However, population densities were usually higher on Hudson and Katahdin than on Superior in field microplots at four initial population densities during two seasons. Higher population densities on Hudson were detectable 304 days after planting in one of the two microplot studies. The juvenile:female and the male:female ratios were sometimes larger on Katahdin than on Superior, but differences were inconsistent. There was no evidence of resistance in the three cultivars evaluated, but reproduction was generally highest on Hudson and lowest on Superior.