A potato collecting expedition in the province of Jujuy, Argentina and disease indexing of virus and fungus pathogens in Andean cultivars

A potato collecting expedition was carried out in the province of Jujuy, Argentina in March 24 to April 15, 2001. The objective was to collect local cultivars of potatoes and wild potato species, covering high mountain valleys not previously collected or areas where germplasm was not available. A total of 247 accessions was collected, 188 cultivated accessions of S. tuberosum subsp. andigenum, four of Solanum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum, two of S. curtilobum and 53 accessions of wild species. The wild species collected were S. acaule subsp. acaule, S. chacoense, S. infundibuliforme, S. megistacrolobum subsp. megistacrolobum, S. microdontum, S. gourlayi, S. x viirsooi and S. oplocense. Herbarium voucher specimens were obtained when possible. For the collection of cultivated potatoes, tubers were gathered from farmer's fields and in a few cases from stores or markets. Seed samples were generally obtained for the wild species. Detailed collection site data were recorded at every site. After breaking dormancy, the accessions of the cultivated species were screened for the presence of Potato virus Y (PVY), Potato virus X (PVX), Potato leafroll virus (PLRV), Potato virus S (PVS), Potato virus M (PVM), Potato virus V (PVV), Andean potato latent virus (APLV), Andean potato mottle virus (APMoV), Potato rough dwarf virus (PRDV), Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) and Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea. PSTVd, APLV and PRDV were not detected, but different levels of infection are reported for the other pathogens assayed.