Powdery scab
Encyclopedia
Powdery scab, is a disease that happens to tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...

s. It is caused by the cercozoa
Cercozoa
The Cercozoa are a group of protists. They are sometimes described as a kingdom.-Characteristics:The group includes most amoeboids and flagellates that feed by means of filose pseudopods. These may be restricted to part of the cell surface, but there is never a true cytostome or mouth as found in...

n Spongospora subterranea, is widespread in potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

 growing countries. Symptom
Symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality...

s of powdery scab include small lesion
Lesion
A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...

s in the early stages of the disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

, progressing to raised pustules containing a powdery mass. Powdery scab has a cosmetic effect on tubers, which can result in rejection of potatoes. The powdery pustules contain resting spores, which release anisokont zoospore
Zoospore
A zoospore is a motile asexual spore that uses a flagellum for locomotion. Also called a swarm spore, these spores are created by some algae, bacteria and fungi to propagate themselves.-Flagella:...

s which can infect the root hairs of potatoes or tomatoes.

When growing your own potatoes, a good crop rotation system can help avoid the problem of powdery scab. Potatoes which have been infected can be peeled to remove the infected skin and the remaining inside of the potato can be cooked and eaten.
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