Blackleg disease, caused by the bacteria Pectobacterium and Dickeya, is regularly the main cause of refusals and downgradings and is the subject of disputes at destination, causing major economic losses for the seed potato sector.

Since 2016, the number of species belonging to the 2 genera has risen from 12 to 33, revealing their great genetic diversity and resulting in ecological niches, host spectrum, aggressiveness and transmission that are very specific to each species.

Controlling these pathogens requires the development of integrated solutions that take into account the characteristics of the bacterial populations involved, the epidemiology of the disease and the use of genetic resources for resistance.

Health quality is an important issue for the French seed potato sector. In order to achieve this objective, the epidemiovigilance mission forms the basis of our work and enables us to monitor the pathogen populations established in France. It is based on the implementation of crop inventories aimed at collecting the pathogens associated with symptoms.