POWDERY SCAB IS AN IMPORTANT POTATO DISEASE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MANAGE. TYPICAL SYMPTOMS ARE COSMETIC DAMAGE ON THE SKIN OF POTATO TUBERS, WHICH HAS SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC IMPACT DUE TO UNMARKETABLE APPEARANCE, AND THE FORMATION OF ROOT GALLS, WHICH REDUCES NUTRIENT AND WATER UPTAKE FOR POTATO PLANTS. POWDERY SCAB PATHOGEN ALSO VECTORS A VIRUS, POTATO MOP-TOP VIRUS (PMTV), WHICH REDUCES PLANT GROWTH AND CAUSES INTERNAL TUBER NECROSIS. PMTV IS CONSIDERED A QUARANTINE PATHOGEN BY CERTAIN REGULATORY AGENCIES, WHICH IS AN IMPEDIMENT TO FOREIGN TRADE. IN RECENT DECADES, THIS DEVASTATING PATHOGEN HAS SPREAD THROUGH POTATO GROWING REGIONS, INCREASING THE NEED FOR EFFECTIVE CONTROL STRATEGIES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE NEW TOOLS FOR POTATO RESISTANCE AGAINST POWDERY SCAB. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE (1) TO DEVELOP BIODEGRADABLE IMMUNOSTIMULANTS (PLANT DEFENSE ELICITORS) TO CONFER HOST PLANT RESISTANCE AGAINST POWDERY SCAB DISEASE, AND (2) TO ESTABLISH RHIZOSPHERE-TARGETED DELIVERY SYSTEM OF IMMUNOSTIMULANTS TO MAXIMIZE THE IMMUNIZATION OF POTATO PLANTS. THIS PROPOSED WORK IS INNOVATIVE IN ITS USE OF A BIOCONTROL BACTERIA TO DELIVER THE IMMUNOSTIMULANT TO THE ROOTS. THIS WORK IS TIMELY AND IMPORTANT BECAUSE CURRENT MANAGEMENT RELIES HEAVILY ON CHEMICAL FUNGICIDES AND SOIL FUMIGATIONS THAT ARE EXPENSIVE AND ONLY PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST POWDERY SCAB. NEW CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR THE POWDERY SCAB DISEASE ARE REQUIRED FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY AND PROFITABILITY OF THE NATIONAL POTATO GROWERS AND WILL BE PROVIDED THROUGH OUR NEW APPROACH.