Oregon Potato Commission

It appears that potato psyllids, the tiny winged insects that can spread zebra chip disease in potato fields, will overwinter in Boise, Idaho, this season, despite the city experiencing one of its coldest Januaries on record.

Oregon State University once again has a plant breeder leading its potato development efforts after filling a position that was vacant for nearly two years: Sagar Sathuvalli.

Researchers say populations of potato psyllids - vectors of a new crop disease to the region called zebra chip - are growing dramatically in the Columbia Basin.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal &Plant Health Inspection Service is working to provide data to officials in South Korea that it hopes will result in a reversal of a decision to ban potato exports from Oregon, Washington and Idaho.