News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Europe

Dr Jon Pickup, Head of Virology & Zoology at Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) will lead on one of three AHDB Potatoes Fellowship Awards, specifically seeking to secure critical potato nematology expertise for the future.

La Xunta de Galicia declara su presencia en los ayuntamientos coruñeses de Ferrol, Narón y Neda y establece una serie de medidas fitosanitarias para combatirla.

El Cabildo de Tenerife ha emprendido desde 2000 una cruzada contra una de las plagas habituales del campo tinerfeño: la polilla de la papa.

On the way from field to fork, more than half of the potato harvest is lost. This is according to a new study conducted by researchers from Agroscope and ETH Zürich.

The Dutch Association of Arable Farmers of (VTA) finds an average yield of 53.622 kg/ha, 8% below last year and on par with the 5-year average. Although tubers are large this season, the VTA predicts low factory yields as a result of a host of quality issues, resulting in an increased demand for potatoes per ton finished product.

Research shows that crops with stacks of two or more resistance genes from closely related species, introduced into the crop via for instance genetic engineering, combined with the simultaneous introduction of resistance management, can ensure the long-term resistance of these plants to economically significant and aggressive diseases.

The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expect the total potato production (excluding seed and starch potatoes) of this year' s harvest to amount to 24.5 million tonnes. This is 14.1 percent below the potato production last year and 2.9 percent below the 5-year average.

In the annual VTA sampling of the development of the Dutch potato crop development, mid August a yield was found 16% lower than last year and 7.1 below the 5 year average.

Scientific results of the potato field trials in Flanders and the Netherlands demonstrate that gene stacking is necessary for a strong and lasting resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans).

Researchers in the United Kingdom aim for a new commercial potato that resists many of the worst vulnerabilities of potato crops around the world.

Desde el Cabildo de Tenerife no descartan que se pudiese producir un aumento de la enfermedad en la presente cosecha, sobre todo si las temperaturas experimentan una subida.

El evento se realizó en Brazov, Rumania, entre el 10 y 13 de mayo.

A team of researchers tracking the 2014 population of the potato late blight pathogen have added to the 2013 data to extend the spatial diversity plots and combine this with novel genetic analysis tools that visualise the distribution and diversity of dominant clones and reveals novel genetically diverse isolates in some regions.

Potato growers and agronomists in he United Kingdom will be better prepared to cope with more aggressive blight strains this season, with a new BlightCast warning tailored to focus on infections now typically occurring earlier in the season at cooler temperatures.

Científicos encontraron un gen para ayudar a proteger las papas de una plaga que desató una devastadora hambruna en Irlanda en el siglo XIX.

In this week 'Nature Plants', scientists from Wageningen University and The Sainsbury Laboratory report the identification of a resistance gene that enhances resistance against potato late blight from a South American wild relative of cultivated potatoes.

Investigadores del Instituto Max Planck desarrollan papas resistentes al escarabajo de la papa usando la tecnología de ARN de interferencia.

Scientists at the NEIKER-Tecnalia Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development have studied the genetic structure of Phytophthora infestans —responsible for potato blight—.