News on Potato Defects and Diseases from the United States

The infamous spike protein doesn’t just help spread viruses – it can also be weaponized to stop them.

Two years ago, the Potato Research Advisory Committee (PRAC) identified and wrote letters of support for a project known as 'The Potato Virus Initiative: Developing Solutions'.

The device has the potential to transform the way that farmers detect and manage plant diseases, leading to more efficient and sustainable agriculture practices.

USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) recently announced funding (USD 6.8M) for Potatoes and Pests – Actionable Science Against Nematodes (nicknamed PAPAS).

University of Idaho researchers are introducing genes from a plant in the nightshade family into potatoes, seeking to develop spuds that resist harmful nematodes.  The plant, called ‘litchi tomato’, has natural resistance to several species of cyst and root-knot nematodes.

Scientists at the University of Maine are evaluating if lobster shells can cultivate beneficial microbial communities that ward off soil borne potato pathogens.

The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance has led researchers to search for new compounds everywhere. This week in mBio, a multinational team of researchers in Europe report the discovery of a new antifungal antibiotic named solanimycin.

New potato varieties bred by the Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program could enter the french fry market before long, said Isabel Vales, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife potato breeder in the Department of Horticultural Sciences

As potato growers are working to maximize their yield potential for the 2022 harvest, it's also time to start thinking about maximizing crop potential for the 2023 season.

The Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) awards its 2022-23 Academic Scholarship to Paige Hickman, a Ph.D. student at University of Idaho, studying plant-parasitic nematodes, insect pests, and diseases of potato.

Students in tank tops with sunscreen-dotted noses walked down the rows of a potato field, frequently bending over to pluck leaves for sample boxes headed to the MSU potato lab.

At their 400-acre Othello research farm, Washington State University scientists study seed quality, new varieties, pests, and growing practices to help Northwest potatoes thrive

Humble potatoes are a rich source not only of dietary carbohydrates for humans, but also of starches for numerous industrial applications. Texas A&M AgriLife scientists are learning how to alter the ratio of potatoes’

The Colorado potato beetle has evolved resistance to more than 50 different kinds of insecticides, making the insect a 'super pest' that wreaks havoc on potatoes around the world.

The University of Idaho is close to opening a new Seed Potato Germplasm Laboratory, which is the place where most Idaho potatoes are 'born'.

In a new study, published in Crop Science, researchers describe genetic tools to develop potato varieties with improved natural resistance to the Colorado potato beetle

Aroostook County agricultural growers are predicting a higher quantity and quality of potato crop than was produced in 2020, due to the less severe weather this summer.

The toll that hot dry weather took on the Red River Valley 2021 potato crop won’t be visible until harvest begins in a few weeks, but it’s already clear it has affected yields and quality.