News on Research from the Americas

The International Potato Center (CIP), in partnership with research and development institutions in Ecuador and Peru, has developed a low-tech tool to help farmers optimize fungicide's use.

Scientists at the International Potato Center (CIP) are shifting their focus to the long-term effects of COVID-19 to anticipate and understand how food systems may be impacted in the coming years.

Romain Cools, President, and CEO of the World Potato Congress Inc. (WPC) announces the appointment of three new Directors to its Board effective July 1, 2020: Dr. Nigel Crump, Australia, and Mrs. Elven Huang, China, both former WPC International Advisors, and Mr. Bret Nedrow, USA.

Volunteer potatoes are difficult to control. Currently, there are no herbicides available that will completely control volunteer potatoes and significantly reduce the number of daughter tubers produced per plant.

The utilization of U.S. grown potatoes increased by 3.3% in volume in 2019 compared to 2018, an increase of 1,183 million pounds.

COVID-19-related restaurant closures lead to ‘curtailment’ of french fry production. Cavendish Farms has advised the P.E.I. potato producers under contract to supply the company with spuds to 'sell to other markets if they can'.

Potatoes USA, the marketing and promotion board for the U.S. potato industry, elected its new leadership during its 48th Annual Meeting on March 11. The newly elected Chairman and Executive Committee will lead the 99 board members through 2020-2021.

An interview with co-editors, Dr. Hugo Campos, Director of Research and Oscar Ortiz, CIP’s Deputy Director General of Research and Development at the International Potato Center.

Uno de los primeros intercambios entre la población andina y la tierra, fue a través de la papa. Los primeros indicios de su cultivo datan los 8000 años de antigüedad. Desde entonces, generaciones de agricultores han domesticado miles de variedades.

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.

More than 2,000 U.S. potato growers and industry members from a dozen countries turned out for Potato Expo 2020 at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, to do business and prepare their operations for the future.

In a work published recently in Frontiers in Plant Science, scientists from Argentina and Sweden reported the results of the research that consisted in the edition of a polyphenol oxidase gene in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.).

Understanding soil health is a central theme of the 52nd annual Idaho Potato Conference and Trade Show, scheduled for Jan. 22-23 at Idaho State University’s Pond Student Union Building.

From Jan. 14 through 15, more than 2,000 U.S. potato growers and industry members from a dozen countries turned out for Potato Expo 2020 at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., to do business and prepare their operations for the future.

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'

The International Potato Center has published an open source book on potato research: 'The potato crop: its agricultural, nutritional and social contribution to humankind'.

Produce Marketing Association (PMA) announced Dr. Max Teplitski has accepted the role of Chief Science Officer for the association. Dr. Teplitski will lead PMA’s science, technology, supply chain and sustainability efforts when he joins the organization.

Scientists have developed a user-friendly online tool called Uniqprimer, which quickly and automatically designs species-specific DNA tags (also known as primers) for detecting pathogens such as Dickeya dianthicola using DNA testing.