Clarke, W: Potato-Worm in California -

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Résumé :
Excerpt from The Potato-Worm in California: Gelechia Operculella, Zeller

In one section where some Of the finest Of potatoes are grown, the Salinas Valley, the dealers estimate that at times the loss has gone as high as sacks in a single year, and indeed the potatoes from any section of the State have to be watched carefully by the dealers to avoid wormy lots. This need of care is because of the fact that a very few Wormy potatoes may infect in a few weeks a whole storeroom full of what were originally clear tubers. As the potato is a food product that is expected to retain its value for many months, this possibility of infestation becomes a most serious question. Certain rots, particularly that produced by a species of Penicillium follow the work of the worm, starting in the burrow filled with excrement and ultimately involving the whole tuber.

Potatoes for the Philippine and Hawaiian trade require very careful culling before shipping, because the warm, moist conditions on the voyage into the tropics favor both the insect and the fungus, a single infested potato often spoiling a whole crate.

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