THE IMPACT OF TRIFENDER WP ON THE CONTENT OF CHLOROGENIC ACIDS IN POTATO PLANTS INFECTED BY Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary

Abstract

Five potato cultivars were grown in a micro-plot field experiment (under conditions of natural infection by pathogens). In experimental treatments, potatoes were treated with Trifender WP, whereas control plants were not treated with growth regulators. A greenhouse experiment, conducted simultaneously, involved three treatments: 1. control (no biostimulant treatment, no inoculation), 2. inoculation (potato plants inoculated with P. infestans), 3. Trifender WP+inoculation (soil and foliar application of Trifender WP followed by inoculation with the pathogen 2 days after the last treatment). The research material was potato petioles, in which changes in the concentration of analyzed chlorogenic acids were determined using the Waters Acquity UPLC technique. In comparison with the control treatment, higher concentrations of the 5-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA), 4-caffeoylquinic acid (4-CQA) and 3-caffeoylquinic acid (3-CQA) were found in potatoes treated with Trifender WP, and in cultivars with blue-purple and red-colored flesh than in those with yellow and cream-colored flesh (field experiment). In the greenhouse experiment, the content of individual chlorogenic acids increased in the petioles of potatoes inoculated with P. infestans and inoculated with the pathogen after the application of Trifender WP, compared with the control treatment.