Potato Research Centre hopes to breed resistant potatoes

Scientists at the Potato Research Centre hope to crossbreed foreign and domestic potatoes to create a new spud that's resilient to disease and requires fewer pesticides.

David de Koeyer, a scientist with Agriculture and Agrifoods Canada, recently returned from an 11-month research trip to Lima, Peru, where he worked at the International Potato Centre studying strains of South American potatoes that are less susceptible to disease than their Canadian counterparts.

He said if scientists can crossbreed the potatoes, producers, consumers and the environment would reap the benefits.

"A greener potato would involve farmers using reduced amounts of pesticides,"said de Koeyer. "It also gives producers some marketing advantage for potatoes that are grown under less intensive conditions."

Because a Peruvian potato better fights disease such as late blight, there would be less of a need to use chemicals.

Joe Brennan, chairman of Potatoes NB, the provincial growers' organization, said in theory, a potato such as the one described would end up saving producers a lot money because they would have to spray less.