AHDB Potatoes has launched a new guide to help growers test for Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) – a pest that costs the industry over £25 million each year. Potato cyst nematode is the most important potato pest in the UK and has the potential to cause substantial yield losses. The release of PCN: Sampling and laboratory guide draws on AHDB-funded research conducted by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and BioSS. The guide measures the effectiveness of soil sampling techniques ahead of PCN testing.
In a further effort to ensure the guide offered practical and relevant advice, AHDB ran through the results of its research at a conference, which was attended by over 40 prominent agronomists and researchers with a keen interest in PCN.
The guide is aimed at growers who either have not sampled for PCN before, or who would like to know the basics and best practice methods to ensure the best possible chance of finding a PCN infestation is achieved. Due to the irrregular way PCN spreads and inhabbits fields, a robust sampling technique is vital.
