Competition between metalaxyl-sensitive and metalaxyl-resistant isolates of Phytophthora infestans in the absence of metalaxyl

Three metalaxyl-sensitive (MS, wild type) and three metalaxyl-resistant (MR) field isolates of Phytophthora infestans were compared, in the absence of metalaxyl, for non-competitive and competitive fitness on potato leaf and tuber tissues. When inoculated singly onto intact plants MR isolates produced larger lesions in leaflets than MS isolates, but no significant differences were recorded in infection frequency or sporulation capacity. When mixtures of MS and MR isolates were inoculated onto intact plants, all MR isolates exhibited a strong competitive ability: their proportion increased in the sporangial populations from 10 to 100% after eight to 10 sporulation cycles. In contrast, when mixtures were inoculated onto detached leaflets or tuber slices in a moisture-saturated atmosphere, only MR2 was a strong competitor; MR1 was a weak and MR3 a moderate competitor. The results showed that in intact plants all MR isolates were able to compete successfully with their MS partner isolates, because of the larger lesions they produced and the unlimited availability of host tissue. However, in detached tissues only MR2 was able to compete successfully with MS2, because of its higher infection and sporulation capabilities compared to MS2. The results explain the severe MR-induced late blight epidemics in potato crops in Israel.