Tuber injury due to organomercurial compound and standardization of tuber treatment*

Dipping potato seed tubers with the organomercurial compound, methoxyethy mercuric chloride, (6% mercury) in 0.50 and 0.75% solution at 15 to 30°C for 15 to 30 min caused injury in the form of sunken spots or depressed lesions on tubers where saprophytic fungi and bacteria grew. A large number of such treated tubers show blind eye or emerged late when planted or even rotted resulting in poor yields. Kufri Sindhuri was the most sensitive cultivar followed by Kufri Badshah, Kufri Jyoti and Kufri Chandramukhi. Treatment of seed tubers in 0.25% solution of OMC for 20 min, however, did not cause any injury to the tubers, did not reduce yield and was equally effective as the treatment in 0.5% solution, in eradicating the infection of black scurf and common scab.