Central Potato Research Station, Post Bag No. 1, Model Town P.O., Jalandhar-144 003, Punjab.
Russet scab of potato which appears as superficial brown irregular or netted abrasions is fast emerging as a serious problem in quality potato production. Twelve major potato varieties screened against russet scab for three years (1998–2001) revealed a very high disease incidence ranging from 71.7 to 92.4 per cent and disease index between 1.38 to 2.32. Seed tuber treatment with 3% boric acid spray or organomercurials (Emisan-6, 0.25%) upto 50 minutes dip which control common scab were found ineffective against russet scab. Soil appears to play a major role in the development of the disease since no significant differences were observed In the progeny tubers produced from apparently healthy or russet infected tubers. More efforts are required to understand the etiology of russet scab and to work out suitable control measures.
