Dickeya / Blackleg

A key requirement for a longtime potato storage is that the storage conditions match the needs and end use of the crop. These requirements of can be assessed before harvest by doing several test digs which allow to determine the distribution and level of tuber infection.

The potato disease Dickeya can be detected by laboratory testing — but is there enough of it present to justify the higher costs? That is the question facing Canadian Seed Potato Growers exporting to the United States who are increasingly asked for the test.

With clean seed potatoes recognized as the best defense against this new blackleg-causing pathogen, the demand for Dickeya testing is growing fast.