News on Potato Defects and Diseases

The Australian Industry Association AUSVEG has published a Potato Growers’ Biosecurity Manual, a guide to farm biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of weeds, pests, and diseases impacting production.

The Belgian Development Cooperation has been working with the International Potato Centre (CIP) in developing countries since the 1970s. The aim is to support the research and training required to improve the production of potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as other root vegetables and tubers.

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

A research project in New Zealand is determining if different field soils affect development of powdery scab on potatoes, and whether soil physical, chemical and/or biological characteristics influence this important potato disease.

Tubers were the talk of the town in Cusco, Peru during the week of May 27, when the 10th World Potato Congress (WPC) and the 28th Congress of the Latin American Potato Association (ALAP) were held together for the first time.

Jean Ristaino, a professor at North Carolina State University with emphasis in research on Phytophthora infestans, reported on a late blight look-alike from tomato and potato in North Carolina.

Russia has agreed to ease a ban on potato exports from eight farming areas in Egypt, allowing shipments to resume from June 6.

Potato growers in Idaho will now have the opportunity to learn about the presence of damaging fungal pathogens much earlier, thanks to the efforts of research staff at the University of Idaho. The research team, led by James Woodhall, has placed 14 spore samplers in potato fields across the Snake River Valley.

Potato cultivation in the highlands of Indonesia is plagued by a number of pests, including Potato Cyst Nematodes and Phytophthora infestans. Dutch experts help their Indonesian counterparts to find the right approach for control.

In Western Australia, a surveillance program to assess if the last year detected tomato potato psyllid (TPP) carries the zebrachip disease pathogen (CLso), did not identify a single case of the pest - with over 10.000 psyllids tested.

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.

El Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) fue galardonado por desarrollar métodos de aprendizaje basados en el descubrimiento de los agricultores, en Bangladesh, China, Etiopía, Uganda, Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú.

El INIA pide a los productores de papa proteger el patrimonio fitosanitario de la zona, tras el avance de plagas cuarentenarias que amenazan la condiciones de zona libre de Los Ríos y Los Lagos.

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.

A federal judge ruled that the United States government illegally quarantined some Idaho potato fields infested with potato cyst nematodes (PCN), a pest that could threaten the state’s $1.2 billion potato industry.

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.

Georgia’s Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture stated that they have banned potato imports from Turkey until July, 2018 to eliminate the spread of 'potato cancer' on Georgian territory.