Reactions of Sweet Potato Selections to Fusarium Root and Stem Canker Caused by Fusarium solani. C. A. Clark, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge 70803. W. M. Randle, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticulture, and C. S. Pace, Research Associate, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge 70803. Plant Dis. 70:869-871. Accepted for publication 13 February 1986. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-869.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivars, advanced selections, and breeding lines were evaluated for reactions of fleshy storage roots and vine cuttings to Fusarium root and stem canker. Four root rot reaction types were observed that ranged from a small, restricted lesion type limited by the vascular ring to a large lesion type that extended beyond the vascular ring into the center of the root. Reactions of most selections to vine inoculations consisted of decay restricted to the leaf scars and basal internodes immediately above the cuts. Stem canker reactions for two sweet potato selections were variable and included some instances where decay extended into internode tissue.