News on Potato Defects and Diseases

En España, ante la imposibilidad de entrar al campo con maquinaria por suelos anegados, el gobierno permitió excepcionalmente tratamientos aéreos sobre cultivos de patata en tres municipios de Sevilla.

A research team has decoded the genome of historic potato cultivars and used this resource to develop an efficient method for analysis of hundreds of additional potato genomes.

Jornada de campo en la provincia de Tucumán con el fin de informar y prevenir sobre la incidencia de nematodos en los cultivos de papa.

The 2025 Hutchinsons Potato Trials Results Day at Worth Farms, Lincolnshire, showcased key field trials and research to help tackle major potato industry challenges, including PCN, herbicide safety, wireworm, catch crops, blight, and Alternaria.

Fera Science’s Enigma I project is advancing to its second phase, focusing on sustainable wireworm control. Agri-food organizations are invited to join as co-funding partners for tailored research and practical solutions.

Emerald Research Ltd (ERL) and a leading potato grower in South West England have won an eighteen-month Innovate UK project to tackle the ever-growing problem of wireworm damage in potatoes.

Greenvale’s Golden Kings launched ‘Move Over Maris’ with Great British Chefs to promote climate-friendly, high-yielding potatoes needing less irrigation and pest control, urging consumers to switch varieties.

Agriculture is growing in Canada’s North with new collaborations and technologies. AAFC scientist Dr. Julia Wheeler led research on season extension for potatoes and green beans in northern communities. The study focused on soil health, pest management, and improving food security.

The dwindling availability of insecticide seed treatment and nematicides has paved the way for pest control using entomopathogenic nematodes.

Andy Diercks, a fourth-generation potato farmer from the small village of Coloma in central Wisconsin, is blunt about the difficult realities facing family-owned farms today.

Potato farming in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Philippines, spans 11,000 hectares but struggles with limited high-quality seed potatoes. At the World Potato Congress (WPC) 2024 in Adelaide, Australia, experts highlighted Apical Rooted Cuttings (ARC) as a solution to improve yields.

Researchers at North Carolina State University identified the South American Andes as the origin of the Irish potato famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans

Potatoes are increasingly traded globally, raising the risk of spreading quarantined pests and diseases. Organizations like EPPO and national bodies regulate many of these threats, necessitating a unified approach to pest and disease management.

Un nuevo sistema ha mejorado la conciencia de los productores sobre las condiciones que favorecen la enfermedad, reduciendo el uso de fungicidas y promoviendo prácticas agrícolas sostenibles.

The World Potato Congress has presented the upcoming webinar: Implementation of an Early Warning System for Sustainable Preventative Management of Potato Late Blight.

Madeleine Smith has joined North Dakota State University as an Extension pesticide specialist. Joining Oct. 2, Smith has been working on the NDSU campus in Fargo, North Dakota.

Fera scientists have made breakthrough progress with industry-steered wireworm research, highlighting where and when the pest is expected to pose the highest risk to arable and fresh produce crops over the next two decades. 

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are working on a new research project to fight plant diseases transmitted by psyllid insects — particularly the zebra chip disease, which has impacted potato production for decades.