ORIGINAL PAPER Root, shoot tissues of Brassica juncea and Cereal secale promote potato health

Abstract Brassica species are increasingly being used as cover crops to suppress soil-borne dis-eases in potato cropping systems. Experiments were conducted in controlled environments and in the field to evaluate the effects of cover crop root or shoot or a combination of root and shoot tissues on potato root and tuber health. In a lab assay we examined the extent to which volatile compounds released from tissues of two cover crop species, rye (Cereale secale L.) and oriental mustard (Brassica juncea L.), could inhibit myce-lium growth of two important potato diseases, Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium ultimum. Twenty-four hours into the lab assay, volatile compounds from all residues suppressed funga