A potato beetle researcher recommends farmers alternate crop rotations and insecticides to avoid building up insect populations that are resistant to the chemicals. University of Maine associate professor of applied entomology Andrei Alyokhin shared his tips during the Washington Oregon Potato Conference in Kennewick, Wash. Alyokhin advises using crop rotations and alternating different insecticide applications instead of continuous cropping or[Read More…]
Pests and Diseases
Bangladesh: Late blight disease worries potato growers
After a serious price fall of potatoes in several northern districts, late blight disease, caused by prolonged dense fog, has now become a cause of concern for potato growers in Bogra. This season, 61,305 hectares of land in Bogra have been brought under potato cultivation against the target of 54,927 hectares, while the production target is 10,79,815 tonnes, according to sources[Read More…]
Netherlands: Pootgoed binnenkort weer naar Rusland
Het ministerie van Economische Zaken (EZ) gaat er nog steeds vanuit dat op korte termijn de Russische grenzen weer opengaan voor Nederlands pootgoed. De export zou kunnen plaatsvinden onder bepaalde fytosanitaire voorwaarden. Volgens EZ betreffen deze voorwaarden onder meer extra inspecties en alleen export van pootgoed vanuit de ziektevrije gebieden. De wens van het ministerie is om nu snel met[Read More…]
US: Sanitation trailers kept PCN program on track
Pressure-washing trailers built to aid growers facing special regulations for pale cyst nematode arrived in the nick of time last fall, PCN program coordinator Tina Gresham said during a recent update on efforts to eradicate the pest in eastern Idaho. In 2012, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service began allowing growers with non-infested, regulated fields to wash and sanitize[Read More…]
Secrets of potato blight evolution could help farmers fight back
Scientists have discovered vital clues as to how the pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine adapted to spread between different plant species. Researchers at Oxford University and The Sainsbury Laboratory (Norwich, UK) looked in unprecedented detail at how Phytophthora infestans, a pathogen that continues to blight potatoes and tomatoes today, evolved to target other plants. The study, published today[Read More…]
Idaho mulls new ring rot requirements
The Idaho potato industry is mulling required bacterial ring rot testing of early generation seed, as well as new record-keeping standards to better trace infections back to a point of origin. A group of about 35 industry representatives has been meeting for several months to address their state’s ongoing challenges with the disease, which can be financially devastating to growers.[Read More…]
British spud growers to be hit hard by slug pellet ban
Potato growers are set to be the hardest hit by the European Union ban on methiocarb slug pellets, which account for about half the slug control market for spuds. Sales of these poison-bait pellets, such as Draza forte and Decoy Wetex, are set to be banned by the end of August this year due to the risk to grain-eating farm[Read More…]
México: Impulsan biólogos veracruzanos cultivo de papa libre de fertilizantes artificiales
Después de varias investigaciones y estudios, biólogos veracruzanos lograron concretar un paquete agrotecnológico para integrarlo en el manejo del cultivo de la papa, por lo que el año pasado se logró retirar, en las siembras experimentales, todos los químicos con los que se suele combatir al nematodo dorado, aproximándose así al objetivo de cultivar el tubérculo de manera orgánica en[Read More…]
Canada: Potato pest causes $6M in lost crops
A pest that caused $6 million in damage to Prince Edward Island potato crops last year is spreading. The wireworm is a type of click beetle. It used to be found only in isolated areas, but now it’s showing up across the Island, the P.E.I. Potato Board said. The worm makes holes in potatoes and other crops, making them unfit[Read More…]
Canada: Prince Edward Island potato growers press to fumigate for wireworm
P.E.I. potato farmers are hoping to add another tool in their toolbox this year in the battle against a damaging pest. The bug is called wireworm, or click beetle, and potato growers want government green lights to use soil fumigation as a valid farm practice. “There used to be only a few hot spots of wireworm but now the pests[Read More…]
US: Program makes inroads against Zebra chip
Zebra chip infection rates are way down in Idaho, but researchers say they still need more years of data before they can relent on their program to protect growers from the disease. University of Idaho researchers have no plans to scale back on the intensive program they implemented in 2013 to track the tiny, winged insects that spread the crop[Read More…]
US: Potato convention highlights issues growers face
Potato growers from every region in the West are attending the 46th annual potato conference held at Idaho State University in Pocatello. While certain diseases such as: Bacterial Ring Rot, Zebra Chip, and Potato Late Blight are still a threat, some of the top potato researchers were giving lectures on how they are working in laboratories to nix that. “The[Read More…]
Understanding the threat of late blight under climate change, from Ecuador to Nepal
Shankar Kaji Shakya, a graduate student and research fellow from the University of Florida (UF), recently visited the office of the International Potato Center (CIP) in Quito, Ecuador to discuss the characteristics of late blight in the Andes with CIP scientists. A native of Nepal, Shakya is interested in finding solutions for controlling Phytophtora infestans, the pathogen that causes potato[Read More…]
US: Potato conference highlights pest management
Speakers at the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference will discuss managing bacterial ring rot and insecticide resistance Jan. 28-30 in Kennewick, Wash. Pest management will be the hot topic at the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference Jan. 28-30 in Kennewick, Wash. University of Idaho professor Phil Nolte will address bacterial ring rot management, said Andy Jensen, manager of the Northwest Potato Research Consortium. University[Read More…]
US: Potato pests, prices top concerns of potato industry
Early blight and white mold — and the yield and quality loss due to these and other potato pests — are the top concerns of many potato growers. Those are the results of the Potato Perspectives Survey that Bayer CropScience, Research Triangle Park, N.C., conducted among attendees of the Potato Expo, Jan. 8-10, in San Antonio. Of those surveyed, 48[Read More…]
Bayer CropScience reveals insights into U.S. potato industry’s top needs for 2014
According to United States Department of Agriculture’s crop production predictions, average potato yield per acre increased during the 2013 season. In an effort to propel this upward trend into the New Year, Bayer CropScience launched its Potato Perspectives Survey during Potato Expo in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 8-10, 2014. Bayer CropScience collected insights from tradeshow attendees across the food chain[Read More…]
Managing Weed Resistance to Herbicides in the Potato Rotation
In the latest ‘Focus on Potato’ webcast, titled “Managing Weed Resistance to Herbicides in the Potato Rotation,” Dr. Jed Colquhoun, weed science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison gives users an update on herbicide-resistant weeds. Herbicide-resistant weeds pose significant economic and production challenges, particularly in specialty crops such as potatoes where weed control options are already limited. This presentation will[Read More…]
Dutch lead the way in potato cyst nematode control
Potato nematodes are now a minor pest threat in the Netherlands and one Dutch expert believes British potato growers could learn lessons from their success. Growing potatoes as a trap crop for potato cyst nematodes (PCN), using resistant varieties and rigorous testing for the industry’s most damaging pest have all led to better control. Dutch growers use more robust sampling[Read More…]
New approach to combat phytophthora
Fast new techniques for genetic identification enable a more specific control of the potato disease phytophthora; this is the theory of scientists from Wageningen UR in the Netherlands who are working to partner with industry to further analyze the genetic variation of the pathogen and link it to practical recommendations. This will allow potato growers to optimally align their choice[Read More…]
Dutch lead the way in potato cyst nematode control
Potato nematodes are now a minor pest threat in the Netherlands and one Dutch expert believes British potato growers could learn lessons from their success. Growing potatoes as a trap crop for potato cyst nematodes (PCN), using resistant varieties and rigorous testing for the industry’s most damaging pest have all led to better control. Dutch growers use more robust sampling[Read More…]
Managing Weed Resistance to Herbicides in the Potato Rotation
In the latest ‘Focus on Potato’ webcast, titled “Managing Weed Resistance to Herbicides in the Potato Rotation,” Dr. Jed Colquhoun, weed science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison gives users an update on herbicide-resistant weeds. Herbicide-resistant weeds pose significant economic and production challenges, particularly in specialty crops such as potatoes where weed control options are already limited. This presentation will[Read More…]
Bayer CropScience reveals insights into U.S. potato industry’s top needs for 2014
According to United States Department of Agriculture’s crop production predictions, average potato yield per acre increased during the 2013 season. In an effort to propel this upward trend into the New Year, Bayer CropScience launched its Potato Perspectives Survey during Potato Expo in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 8-10, 2014. Bayer CropScience collected insights from tradeshow attendees across the food chain[Read More…]
US: Potato pests, prices top concerns of potato industry
Early blight and white mold — and the yield and quality loss due to these and other potato pests — are the top concerns of many potato growers. Those are the results of the Potato Perspectives Survey that Bayer CropScience, Research Triangle Park, N.C., conducted among attendees of the Potato Expo, Jan. 8-10, in San Antonio. Of those surveyed, 48[Read More…]
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