News on Research

What a day it was on Monday, June 24! The Adelaide Convention Centre was packed with over 900 delegates, all excited to hear from leaders and innovators of the global potato industry.

Farm life always agreed with Brian Mahany from his early days working the fields on Sundays with his family. While he may have thought about other career choices in agriculture, he said he always came back to the farm.

The Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) has announced Xiuyan Zhang, a Ph.D. student at the University of Maine, as the recipient of the organization’s 2024-25 Academic Scholarship. 

PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer has announced it will begin supplying patatin, the native protein in potatoes, to commercial clients following regulatory approval.

In an examination of the genetic material found in historic potato leaves, North Carolina State University researchers reveal more about the tit-for-tat evolutionary changes occurring in both potato plants and the pathogen that caused the 1840s Irish potato famine.

With over 4,000 visitors, the organisation of Potato Demonstration Day looks back with satisfaction on the completely renewed edition of the knowledge and meeting event for the Dutch potato sector.

Potatoes Australia Ltd took great pride in hosting the 12th World Potato Congress 2024. Potatoes Australia Ltd. Chairman Dr. Nigel Crump and Potatoes Australia Ltd. Executive Officer, Sonia Waterson welcomed guests to the event for the official opening.

Farmers in the southeastern United States struggle with the invasive guava root-knot nematode, a microscopic roundworm, which infects and damages a variety of crops, particularly sweet potatoes.

This year’s Hutchinsons Potato Demonstration Day, held at Worth Farms, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, focussed on potential solutions to address some of the key challenges faced by UK potato growers.

Prof Ian Toth, a distinguished figure in the potato research community, has been appointed as the new President of the European Association for Potato Research (EAPR).

The variety release committee of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has recently announced that three of Solynta’s hybrid true potato varieties have been approved for distribution in Kenya.

En Castilla y León se pone en marcha un plan piloto para la detección temprana de enfermedades que puedan afectar cultivos.

The OptiClean initiative, supported by a DKK 5.5 million (USD 790,000) grant from Denmark's Green Development and Demonstration Programme (GUDP), aims to tackle the problem of half-rotten carrots in consumers’ vegetable drawers.

The concept of foliar applied preparations is based on science, but when they were initially introduced in the late 1990’s many of the initial products had drawbacks, such as leaf scorch, low active volumes per application, poor uptake and even phytotoxicity.

Scientists have discovered that calcium plays a significant role in enhancing the resistance of potato plants to bacterial wilt. This disease causes worldwide losses of potatoes costing USD 19 billion per year.

The lack of quality seed for improved varieties has been attributed to the limited capacity of seed multipliers to produce enough to meet farmer’s demands.

The UK's leading potato sprout control technology provider has confirmed it is exhibiting at SPot Store on 14th May.

The countdown to the World Potato Congress 2024 has begun and the excitement is building. The team is working hard behind the scenes to ensure the 2024 Congress is one to remember, with a number of exciting announcements.