Potato clones resistance to early and late blight

It is extremely important to obtain potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes resistant to early and late blight caused by the fungi Phytophthora infestans and Alternaria solani, respectively, to adopt integrated pest management to control these diseases. Potato clones previously selected for resistance to early blight by the potato breeding program at the Federal University of Lavras were assessed in three locations in the south of Minas Gerais state, under different cultivation conditions: one experiment involved 192 clones, inoculated with Alternaria solani, another assessed 291 clones in the presence of natural infection by Phytophthora infestans, and the other assessed 192 non-infected clones. The clones more resistant to Alternaria solani tended to have a longer plant cycle. Clones with good levels of resistance to both diseases were identified as having tuber yields superior to the controls, both in the presence and absence of early blight. These clones presented tuber specific weight similar or superior to the control cultivars.