Here is some additional information to supplement the March 2016 article of Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, “Bacterial soft rot:  new name, new pathogen, new problem? It is sourced from Amy Charkowski’s presentation at the 2016 Ontario Potato Conference held in Guelph on March 1. She is a seed potato researcher with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
   

Dickeya dianthicola, the new blackleg pathogen has the ability to remain dormant in tubers when temperatures are low e.g. at harvest time and in seed storages. Infected tubers look healthy at planting, but the disease develops when soil temperature increases. Seed tubers may rot in the soil (poor emergence) or infected plants emerge, which eventually die but also can spread the disease to neighbouring plants.
     

The point is that growers should have the seed tested for Dickeya because if the disease is dormant, tubers would look fine at planting but there could be serious losses.
    

Charkowski’s presentation on Dickeya is available at the University of Wisconsin-Madison website.