News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Northern America

Renaissance BioScience Corp., a leading global bioengineering company, is pleased to announce that an independent test of its environmentally safe, RNA-based biopesticide technology was conducted on 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.

Greater understanding of the biology of one of the most destructive plant viruses to potato crops will be the focus of a research hub at the University of Maine.

The Prince Edward Island Potato Board is excited to share with potato farmers and industry partners the launch of a new podcast, Spudchat.

A team effort led to Alberta being declared Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) free – improving trade prospects for producers.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has lifted its voluntary suspension of export certification for P.E.I. seed potatoes, allowing trade to the United States to resume.

Seed potato exports from Prince Edward Island to the United States halted last fall now closer to resuming.

Native to the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado potato beetle has now spread to many parts of the world and quickly overcoming almost every pesticide thrown in its way. A new UVM study sheds light on how these insects become resistant so fast.

In a recent study published in the MPMI journal, scientists from CSU revealed that metabolites from S. chacoense contribute to disease resistance by altering the pathogenic behavior of Pectobacterium brasiliense, rather than inhibiting its growth or killing it.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has recently confirmed the presence of potato wart in two fields on a farm in Prince Edward Island (PEI). Potato wart is a regulated quarantine pest in 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.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the detection of Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (RSr3b2) in a single variety of geranium plants located in a Michigan greenhouse.

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.

Potato virus Y is the most economically important and devastating aphid-transmitted virus, affecting both tuber yield and quality. The virus is also a major cause of seed potato degeneration, which leads to regular flushing out of seed potatoes.

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.

The World Potato Congress (WPC) continues with its webinar series in its 2020 on January 24, with a webinar featuring Dr. David Douches of 'Feed the Future – Biotechnology Potato Partnership'