The initial growth rate of three strains of Ph. infestans was increased by addition of soya-bean phospholipids to the basal medium plus amino acids; with one strain it was even higher than on pea-juice agar.

Plant disease epidemiology is a dynamic science that forms an essential part of the study of plant pathology. This book brings together a team of 35 international experts. Each chapter deals with an essential component of the subject and allows the reader to fully understand how each exerts its influence on the progress of pathogen populations in plant populations over a defined time scale. This edition has new, revised and updated chapters.

Late blight disease caused by Phytophthora infestans continues to pose a great challenge for potato and tomato growers around the world. Despite the numerous efforts conducted to alleviate the losses caused by this disease, the pathogen's diversity has been a key factor in disease control failures. Continuous monitoring of pathogen traits such as fungicide sensitivity and host preference are essential for selecting the best disease mitigation method. The overall objective of this study was to understand the P. infestans population in the USA. More specifically, my research objectives were: i) To characterize the phenotypes of the most recent and most prevalent strains of P. infestans in the US; ii) To investigate a set of rare and diverse genotypes detected in the northeastern US in 2010 and 2011; iii) To study the phenotypic diversity (mating type, host preference, sensitivity to mefenoxam, the effect of temperature on release of zoospores and the effect of temperature on mycelial growth) of a diverse panel of P. infestans from the US, Mexico and the Netherlands and determine the genetic relatedness among them; iv) To conducted a genome-wide association study to identify genetic markers associated with important phenotypic traits; and v) To investigate the characteristics of mefenoxam acquired resistance. Differences in mating type, mefenoxam sensitivity, pathogenicity on potato and tomato, and zoospore release at different temperatures were identified between the recent genotypes of P. infestans in the US (US-8, US-22, US-23, and US-24). The genetic characteristics of the rare and diverse genotypes detected in the northeastern US were consistent with a recombinant population. The phenotypic analyses conducted on strains from the US, Mexico and the Netherlands, revealed a broad range of phenotypic responses. Eleven association hits for mating type in P. infestans where found with a P

The potato--humble, lumpy, bland, familiar--is a decidedly unglamorous staple of the dinner table. Or is it? John Reader's narrative on the role of the potato in world history suggests we may be underestimating this remarkable tuber. From domestication in Peru 8,000 years ago to its status today as the world's fourth largest food crop, the potato has played a starring--or at least supporting--role in many chapters of human history. In this witty and engaging book, Reader opens our eyes to the power of the potato. Whether embraced as the solution to hunger or wielded as a weapon of exploitation, blamed for famine and death or recognized for spurring progress, the potato has often changed the course of human events. Reader focuses on sixteenth-century South America, where the indigenous potato enabled Spanish conquerors to feed thousands of conscripted native people; eighteenth-century Europe, where the nutrition-packed potato brought about a population explosion; and today's global world, where the potato is an essential food source but also the world's most chemically-dependent crop. Where potatoes have been adopted as a staple food, social change has always followed. It may be "just" a humble vegetable, John Reader shows, yet the history of the potato has been anything but dull.