News on Potato Defects and Diseases

P.E.I. launches a buy-back program for potato wart index fields to combat the fungal disease. It aids farmers, protects land, and boosts trade, with over USD 40M spent since 2021 on wart control efforts.

GB Potatoes has joined HCP to secure vital crop protection authorisations for the UK seed potato sector, using AHDB levy funds. A new technical group will prioritise needs, ensuring sustainable, high-quality seed and ware potato production.

Rwanda is now a key hub for seed potato trade in the Great Lakes Region, thanks to farmer-led innovations, Africa’s largest minituber facility, a national seed catalogue, and efforts toward regional integration and formal cross-border seed markets.

Kobe University found that potatoes secrete a molecule (SEC) that microbes convert into compounds triggering potato parasite hatching. This three-way interaction could help develop 'suicide hatching' methods to control crop-damaging nematodes.

The potato feeds over a billion people but faces disease and limited diversity. Investing in research, breeding, and farmer support is vital to improve resilience and productivity, ensuring it remains a key staple for global food security.

Join the James Hutton Institute's webinar on May 30, International Day of Potato, to explore UK potato production challenges and innovations in breeding, sustainability, AI tools, and pest control. Hosted by NPIC and Professor Ingo Hein.

El país se haya en una lucha interna por la medida que amplia la importación de papa desde Estados Unidos. Ya no solo será papa para industria, sino ahora también fresca. Los productores se oponen.

Simon Fraher is a highly skilled vegetable breeder finishing his doctorate this spring semester with NC State University’s Sweetpotato and Potato Breeding and Genetics Programs.

Pro Farm Group introduces ARINO™ insecticide/ nematicide, for the management of nematodes and wireworms in potatoes, onions and other bulb and tuberous vegetables. 

El II Encuentro Agroprofesional de la Patata ha reunido a más de un centenar de agricultores y técnicos para debatir sobre el estado actual del cultivo, las amenazas sanitarias y los retos de la sostenibilidad agraria.

GB Potatoes funds the FAB project for 3 years, boosting UK efforts to monitor and combat potato late blight. Led by James Hutton Institute, FAB provides vital real-time insights on blight strains and resistance, strengthening sector resilience.

En España, ante la imposibilidad de entrar al campo con maquinaria por suelos anegados, el gobierno permitió excepcionalmente tratamientos aéreos sobre cultivos de patata en tres municipios de Sevilla.

A research team has decoded the genome of historic potato cultivars and used this resource to develop an efficient method for analysis of hundreds of additional potato genomes.

Jornada de campo en la provincia de Tucumán con el fin de informar y prevenir sobre la incidencia de nematodos en los cultivos de papa.

The 2025 Hutchinsons Potato Trials Results Day at Worth Farms, Lincolnshire, showcased key field trials and research to help tackle major potato industry challenges, including PCN, herbicide safety, wireworm, catch crops, blight, and Alternaria.

Fera Science’s Enigma I project is advancing to its second phase, focusing on sustainable wireworm control. Agri-food organizations are invited to join as co-funding partners for tailored research and practical solutions.

Emerald Research Ltd (ERL) and a leading potato grower in South West England have won an eighteen-month Innovate UK project to tackle the ever-growing problem of wireworm damage in potatoes.

Greenvale’s Golden Kings launched ‘Move Over Maris’ with Great British Chefs to promote climate-friendly, high-yielding potatoes needing less irrigation and pest control, urging consumers to switch varieties.