News on Research

Potato late blight, that same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine, resurfaced in Alaska this fall. This wasn’t the first time the disease, widespread in the Lower 48 and worldwide, came to Alaska. Plant pathologist Jenifer McBeath suspects it...

Will a newly discovered russet potato variety make the Red River Valley a yield contender with the Pacific Northwest? Carl Hoverson of Larimore, N.D., thinks so, and — as one of the key growers for the Simplot-processed potato plant in Grand Forks, N....

Because of the research she does on many different issues important to the potato industry, University of Idaho potato specialist Nora Olsen is a rising star. Her work on a new inhibitor that prevents potatoes from sprouting while in storage is the la...

Top potato researchers from Britain and The Netherlands have joined the speaker panel at the World Potato Congress (WPC 2012) due to take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, May 27-30. Exploiting the potato genome and how new-found knowledge will ultimatel...

To learn more about use of electronic technology among its clients, the University of Idaho Extension surveyed 80 university students and 135 potato farmers. It was found that the farmers were likely to use more technology than the students were. It...

Today, the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) has ceremoniously “handed over the keys” of the Potato and Vegetable Storage Research Facility (SRF) to the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW). The ceremony gives the WPVGA a cha...

Two Potato companies - Taylor Food Group and QV Foods - have signed a five year deal with the James Hutton Institute's Mylnefield Research Service (MRS) subsidiary to continue a potato breeding programme that originally started in 2005. Taylor Food Gr...

Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to allow tax-exempt donations to support agricultural research as a means to help keep American agriculture on the forefront of food production breakthroughs. The Charitable Agriculture Research Act (...

Wireworm feeding damage is easy to spot, says Rich Novy, an Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist seeking to shore up America’s $3.3 billion potato crop. The damage resembles a nail hole that has been punched into the spud, pitting its surface...

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG), one of North America's leading packaged food companies, today announced that it will be added for the first time to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America. One of the world's most recognizable sustain...

Phytophthora is Latin for “plant destroyer,” and Phytophthora infestans is the pathogen that causes potato late blight. This pathogen is responsible for widespread devastation of potato crops, and is especially known as the cause of the mass starvati...

Phytophthora en latín significa "destructor de plantas", y Phytophthora infestans es el patógeno que causa el tizón tardío de la papa. Este patógeno es responsable de la devastación de los cultivos de papa, y es especialmente conocido como l...

Researchers with the University of Manitoba will launch a study this fall to assess the value of composted hog manure in improving the yield and quality of Manitoba potato crops. A three-year study being launched this month will compare the effect of ...

De aardappel is meer dan alleen maar rijk aan koolhydraten. Een dagelijkse portie paarse aardappelen lijkt goed voor ons hart. Tenminste als je ze kookt en niet frituurt of van vette sauzen voorziet. Dat blijkt uit een Amerikaans onderzoek uitgevoerd...

Research conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that in some production systems, planting potatoes in flat beds can increase irrigation water use efficiency. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engine...

A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist, Xiaohong Wang - a molecular biologist - has created a new weapon in the war being waged against the potato cyst nematode-a diagnostic test that identifies the type of nematode infesting a grower's field.

Matthew Smallwood has been appointed as SAC’s Senior Potato Consultant and will be based at SAC’s Perth Office. Matt will work closely with Dr Stuart Wale, who continues to work for SAC on a reduced-days basis. He will co-ordinate activity with the oth...

This month it became known that at least two Dutch potato varieties can thrive in salty soil. Several Dutch scientists and farmers think this discovery could have tremendous consequences for the potato industry worldwide. However, can these special po...