Black Scurf of Potato Disease Prevalence in the Markets of Federal Capital Territory, Pakistan
Black Scurf of Potato Disease Prevalence in the Markets of Federal Capital Territory, Pakistan
Muhammad Abu Bakar Siddique1, Faisal Sohail Fateh2*, Zia-Ur-Rehman1 and Humayun Saleem1
ABSTRACT
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) belongs to solanaceae family and is categorized as tuberous crop. Potato is ranked 4th all over the world after rice, wheat and maize. Nutritionally potato is rich in vitamins (B1, B2 and B6), minerals (potassium, phosphorus and magnesium), pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Major potato producing districts in Punjab are Okara, Sahiwal, Kasur, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Narowal, Lahore, Pakpattan, Jhang, TobeTek Singh and Gujranwala. Potato is attacked by a number of diseases including early blight of potato, black scurf disease of potato, stem canker and powdery scab of potato. Among various fungal diseases in potato crop, the black scurf disease of potato caused by Rhizoctonia solani, affects the quality of potato and lowers its market value. A preliminarily a study was designed to see the prevalence, incidence and severity of black scurf disease in the markets of Federal Territories of Islamabad to estimate the intensity of the disease by calculating the disease index. Maximum disease index was observed in Abpara and F-10 markets i.e. 21.11% with varying disease incidence and severity percentage. However, the presence of black scurf disease in the market shows that in Pakistan the consumers do not consider it as a threat, because it remains in potato peel only.
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