Utilizing phylloplanins for the control of fungal and oomycete pathogens in organic potato farming
Final Report
Principal Investigator: Amy Charkowski, Dept. Plant Pathology, Univ. Wisconsin-Madison
Summary
Our long term goal is to provide organic potato farmers with either information on which potato varieties resist these common tuber diseases or to provide farmers with a way to reduce losses from these diseases. Surface defects and foliar fungal pathogens are the main cause of yield and quality loss for organic potato farmers. Farmers have relatively few options for control of these pathogens. Phylloplanins are anti-fungal proteins secreted onto leaf surfaces by trichome bearing plants such as tobacco. These proteins could be harvested from leaves to treat potatoes prior to going into storage or could be targets for breeding for disease resistance. We trialed phylloplanins produced by multiple plant species against fungal potato pathogens using a novel microfluidics device.