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Australian Researchers are working closely with the country's potato industry to investigate the potential for the highly destructive Tomato-potato psyllid (TPP) to enter Australia using natural pathways.

The impact of drought and water quality on Australian potatoes could be significantly reduced by a new research project from Potatoes South Australia and Landmark Australia.

Consumer research in Australia, Potato Tracker, has shown that Australian consumers prefer to purchase pre-packaged potatoes, with one to two kilogram packages as the ideal sizes.

The South Australian Potato Industry has received funding of $100,000 to enable a project to add value to potatoes which are graded-out due to size or shape and do not meet supermarket specifications.

It appears that many Australians don’t know their King Edwards from their Kennebecs, with the latest wave of the Potato Tracker consumer research project indicating that some people can’t name a single variety of potato, despite being the most commonly purchased vegetable commodity.

A Tasmanian potato grower - known for her innovative use of the vegetable - has been announced as a keynote speaker at this year's National Horticulture Convention in Queensland, later this month.

The Premier of Western Australia, Colin Bartlett, reportedly told The West Australian that it was time for rules that dictated the varieties, quantities and price of potatoes grown in Western Australia - and the Potato Marketing Corporation - to go.

The Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia has announced plans to take legal action against Galati, who owns a chain of grocery stores called the Spudshed as well as being one of the state’s largest growers.

AUSVEG has welcomed the signing of a work and holiday Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian and Vietnamese governments, which could assist Australian vegetable and potato growers fill labour shortages during peak harvesting times.

AUSVEG remains wholly unconvinced of the benefits of a grower-funded generic potato marketing campaign despite claims from the Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia that the initiative has been a success in that state.

In South Australia, McCain has sold its former potato processing factory at Penola to a meat processor, to the dismay of some local growers.

The weather might be warming up [well, in Australia that is, not here in Canada...PP] but that isn’t stopping Aussie consumers tucking in to a hearty serve of mashed potato, according to the latest wave of the industry-funded Potato Tracker project.

The South Australian Government is partnering with Potatoes South Australia to gain export access and expand the state’s seed and fresh potato industry within the growing international markets of Thailand and Malaysia.

The first wave of results from the Australian industry-funded Potato Tracker project have been released, shedding encouraging new light on purchase triggers and consumption habits relating to fresh potatoes.

AUSVEG CEO Mr Richard Mulcahy has welcomed this afternoon’s announcement by the Federal Agriculture Minister, The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, of the composition of the Board that will head up the new research and development body for horticulture.

Australian potato growers are set to gain fresh insights into how consumers view their products as part of a new market research project that has started this month.

Potatoes South Australia chief executive Robbie Davis says potatoes are widely considered fattening, high in bad carbohydrates, inconvenient and boring. She calls for a national image campaign.

Crop management and protection practices that help prevent soil-borne diseases in potato crops will be the key focus of a special potato research and development (R&D) workshop to be held in Berrigan, NSW, Australia