Current diagnosis of gangrene in potato tubers, caused byPhoma exigua var.foveata, is based on isolation and identification of the causal organism or on thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) detection of the anthraquinone pigment pachybasin (1-hydroxy-3-methylanthraquinone). In this paper alternative diagnostic approaches are described based on detection of specific ions by pyrolysis mass spectrometry (Py-MS), direct probe mass spectrometry (DIP-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed in comparison with the TLC approach. GC-MS is a promising technique because of its high specificity, sensitivity and suitability for automation. Moreover, the MS approaches may lead to a reduction of total expertise time.