News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Europe

AHDB secured nine emergency authorisations for potato, herb, celery, carrot, parsnip, cherry and plum for UK growers to protect their crops.

Following a case of poisoning caused by a potato dish, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is reminding people about the correct handling of potatoes.

The EuroBlight project is examining the ongoing evolution of the potato late blight pathogen (Phytophthora infestans). In 2017, almost 1500 samples from 16 countries in Europe were genotyped. The results indicate that new clones continue to spread.

Late Blight control strategies in the United Kingdom will have to change this season if potato growers are to combat the spread of a new aggressive, fungicide-insensitive/ resistant strain of the disease, leading agronomy firm Hutchinsons says.

By analysing potato production data, information systems specialist Professor Wolfgang Maaß and his team want to help farmers and food companies identify potential benefits and optimize their processes.

Although PCN testing of soil for seed potato cultivation is typically strictly regulated, different procedures are in use for the testing of soil for ware potatoes - and which one is used has huge consequences for the reliability.

Canarias sabrá este lunes si funciona el plan activado por la Consejería de Agricultura del Gobierno regional para eliminar la polilla guatemalteca de la papa recolectada en los campos locales.

The North-Western European Potato Growers report on volume and condition of the potatoes still in storage

Agrico presented its new generation potato varieties with high resistance to late blight (Phytophthora Infestans) at Fruit Logistica. On the first day of the fair, General Manager Jan van Hoogen explained the meaning of these new varieties.

A research project aims to improve the accuracy of the ‘AHDB Potatoes potato cyst nematode (PCN) pallida calculator’ which is currently used as an educational forecasting tool for potato growers in the United Kingdom.

Following an investigation by the Animal and Plant Health Agency earlier this year, it has been confirmed that ulluco tubers imported into the UK from a number of different sources were infected by harmful viruses, highlighting that there is uncertainty about the disease status of this crop in general.

Identification of the receptor for Cytolisin - the killer toxin of Phytophthora infestans - opens door to biological methods to protect potatoes and selective, biological herbicides as alternative for glyphosate

Funcionarios de la Consejería de Desarrollo Rural y Recursos Naturales descubrieron la plaga en una trampa instalada en el municipio de El Franco. Es una situación previsible pues la polilla no tiene que comer en las zonas afectadas y tiene que movilizarse para buscar alimento.

Although the full harvest is not in the stores yet, the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) estimates the actual harvest at 28.9 million tons for the 5 countries. This is more than the estimate of last September.

A genetically-modified (GM) Maris Piper designed to resist the devastating plant disease late blight has worked “brilliantly” during the first year of field trials, according to scientists of The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL)

The potato harvest in the United Kingdom was mostly without drama. Hopefully this doesn't change during the storage season. But watch the changes in the CIPC regulation.

Potato growers in Hungary are in a tough position as potato prices are low. On top of that, yield has been negatively affected by heat and quality is far from optimal.

For the current European potato harvest, the North-western-European Potato Growers (NEPG) estimate the total potato production at 27.9 million tons for the five NEPG countries (Belgium, Germany, France, The Netherlands and Great Britain). This is up 13.5 percent compared to last season.