News on Potato Defects and Diseases from New York

Calantha, a new RNA-based sprayable pesticide, effectively kills Colorado potato beetles while sparing beneficial insects. Most effective on small larvae, it offers a sustainable, targeted solution to combat resistant crop pests.

Cornell marks 160 years of potato breeding, creating 50+ varieties—including top U.S. chip potatoes and nematode-resistant strains. Farmer partnerships and USDA support drive innovation, boosting sustainability and the USD 100B U.S. potato industry.

Aphids and the plant viruses they transmit cause billions of dollars in crop damage around the world every year.

Plant breeders and geneticists of Cornell University have released more than 50 potato varieties since 1908. Now they are expanding their efforts to make more wild potato seeds available to potato breeders around the world.

When some Colombian potato varieties are lightly grazed by a pest, the plants respond by growing larger tubers, at times doubling their yields. Researchers see an opportunity and want to know more...

In a visit to the Nematode Quarantine laboratory at Cornell University last Friday, US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced a commitment of $400,000 from the USDA for the upgrades to the facilities and equipment.

Adrienne Gorny, a fourth-year doctoral student in Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology at Cornell University, is the recipient of the 2017-2018 NPC Academic Scholarship.

Cornell University receives $1.2 million of new state funding to upgrade the Federal Golden Nematode Lab

Dickeya blackleg, often just called Dickeya, is a new disease in the United States. It was severe in 2015 at least partly reflecting hotter weather than previous 2 years when the pathogen likely was present and is developing again in 2016.

Potato plants boost the chemical defenses in their leaves when Guatemalan tuber moth larvae feed on their tubers, report researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI).

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer has urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prioritize the replacement and modernization of the Federal Nematode Quarantine Facility at Cornell University in the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Capitol Investment Strategy for Fiscal Year 2016.

The National Potato Council (NPC) is pleased to award Washington Luis da Silva, a plant pathology Ph.D. student at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., its 2014-15 Academic Scholarship.

Late blight, a fungal-like pathogen that affects potato and tomato crops, has been confirmed on Long Island for the sixth consecutive year.

Home gardeners and commercial growers are alerted of the potential introduction of late blight this growing season, as it has been confirmed in Suffolk County.

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine today announced that the Department, in conjunction with USDA, is removing more than 300,000 acres from regulation for golden nematode.

A new USDA-funded consortium will provide nationwide tracking of late blight infections of potato and tomato.  A web site currently under development will allow users to report where late blight has been found, and to sign up for automatic notifications by email or text message when late blight is found nearby.