News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Canada

Two research scientists on P.E.I. have spent their summer trying to grow a better potato, more resistant to scab and greening, which are both costly problems for potato growers.

A key requirement for a longtime potato storage is that the storage conditions match the needs and end use of the crop. These requirements of can be assessed before harvest by doing several test digs which allow to determine the distribution and level of tuber infection.

More than $3 million is being invested in studying a major cause of potato yield reduction in Prince Edward Island and other spud-growing areas in Canada.

A growing number of Prince Edward Island potato farms are taking advantage of new technology to improve their use of crop protectants, including fungicides used to prevent late blight.

Potato Growers on Prince Edward Island report they are planting more mustard than ever this year.

Terrence McEachern of the Guardian spoke with Romana Roberts and Chris Hunt of PEI Potato Solutions on the Sherlock Separator they recently installed for the removal of foreign objects and defects, such as surface scabs or rot.

The Government of Canada supports the investment in a Sherlock Separator potato sorter by RWL Holdings LTD (PEI Potato Solutions), a potato washing and sorting facility to optimize potatoes for processing prior to delivery to Cavendish Farms.

Chemicals in the leaves of potato plants, produced naturally by the plant, may hold the key to a new way to control Colorado potato beetles - a major pest for potato growers.

For the first time, evidence of the zebra chip pathogen has been found in potato fields in southern Alberta, but the University of Lethbridge’s Dr. Dan Johnson cautions against panic.

More than 300 people stopped by Fredericton Research and Development Centre's open house

Health Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have completed the food, feed, and environmental safety assessments of the J.R. Simplot Company’s second generation of Innate® potatoes. The authorizations enable the potatoes to be imported, planted, and sold in Canada.

The potato disease Dickeya can be detected by laboratory testing — but is there enough of it present to justify the higher costs? That is the question facing Canadian Seed Potato Growers exporting to the United States who are increasingly asked for the test.

With clean seed potatoes recognized as the best defense against this new blackleg-causing pathogen, the demand for Dickeya testing is growing fast.

Esta nota analiza el problema de la degeneración de la semilla, detalla la estrategia propuesta del Programa del CGIAR de Raíces, Tubérculos y Banano, y describe cinco técnicas sencillas para mejorar la calidad de la semilla y aumentar la producción de papa.

The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expect in the 5 covered countries (NL, B, FR, GB, DE) a lower production of potatoes (seed and potatoes.for starch production not included) compared to last season.

Manitoba's first case of late blight for the year was found in a western Manitoba field over the weekend.

For years, PEI potato farmer Robert Green has been growing barley and canola in rotation with potatoes. This season, he’s decided to try something new.

Innate Potatoes, a newly-approved, genetically modified potato variety, will not be grown commercially in Canada this year, says Simplot.