News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Northern America

May 09, 2017

From test tube to plate, UW–Madison program keeps potatoes clean

Years before that french fry landed on your plate, the plant that would eventually give rise to the spud your fry was cut from was sealed away deep in a secure-access building, growing slowly in a test tube inside a locked growth chamber.

May 07, 2017

Idaho Universities receive Grant to investigate Humigator in Potato Storage

A partnership between Idaho State University and Boise State University has been awarded an Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) grant to research the application of the Humigator in potato storage.

April 23, 2017

Variety screening reveals potatoes with resistance to zebrachip disease

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathology team intentionally infected potato plants with psyllids positive with the bacterium that causes zebra chip disease, in order to identify promising germplasm in the battle against the disease plaguing the US potato industry for the past 15 years.

April 11, 2017

New Webcast helps Potato Growers avoid devastating Powdery Scab Outbreaks

Powdery scab is a potato disease that is difficult to manage and under certain environmental conditions powdery scab can be potentially devastating to susceptible potato varieties.

April 11, 2017

Guarding against Dickeya: testing your seed potatoes

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

April 02, 2017

Neonicotinoid insecticides losing efficiency in potato psyllid control

The potato industry may be losing a mainstay in the battle against psyllids, according to a recent Texas A&M AgriLife Research study.

March 20, 2017

US government approved 3 more Simplot GMO potato types for cultivation and sale

The US federal government has given the final OK to three more types of potatoes genetically engineered by Boise’s J.R. Simplot Co. to resist Phytophthora - the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.

February 07, 2017

Potato growers in Maine apply soil fumigation in a trial of McCain Foods

French Fry manufacturer McCain Foods has started trials examining soil fumigation with several of its potato growers in Maine (United States) and New Brunswick (Canada).

January 04, 2017

Study Provides Evidence on Movement of Potato Famine Pathogen

North Carolina State University research delves into the movement and evolution of the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840's - Phytophthora infestans -, which set down roots in the United States before attacking Europe

December 06, 2016

Potato White Mold: how it spreads and how it can be managed

The Plant Management Network (PMN) has released a new presentation entitled 'Epidemiology and Management of Potato White Mold' to help growers, consultants and extension agents understand how white mold persists and spreads

November 14, 2016

Cómo aumentar la producción de papa usando técnicas sencillas (o cómo manejar integralmente la sanidad de la semilla de papa)

Esta nota analiza el problema de la degeneración de la semilla, detalla la estrategia propuesta del Programa del CGIAR de Raíces, Tubérculos y Banano, y describe cinco técnicas sencillas para mejorar la calidad de la semilla y aumentar la producción de papa.

October 26, 2016

USDA clears Calyxt potato modified to withstand bruising

A new potato variety that’s genetically modified to withstand bruising has been cleared for commercialization without undergoing USDA’s deregulatory process for biotech crops.

October 20, 2016

Cornell University receives state grant to upgrade Golden Nematode Lab

Cornell University receives $1.2 million of new state funding to upgrade the Federal Golden Nematode Lab

NEPG estimate for the 2016 potato harvest|: More acres, less production, uncertainty

September 21, 2016

NEPG estimate for the 2016 potato harvest: More acres, less production and a lot of uncertainty

The North-western European Potato Growers (NEPG) expect in the 5 covered countries (NL, B, FR, GB, DE) a lower production of potatoes (seed and potatoes.for starch production not included) compared to last season.

August 17, 2016

National Potato Council Awards Academic Scholarship for Potato Research to Justin Clements

Justin Clements, a fifth year doctoral student in the Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center working in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the recipient of the 2016-2017 NPC Academic Scholarship.

August 11, 2016

Potato Psyllid Alert for North Dakota

Potato psyllids have been reported in specific fields in western and central North Dakota. At this point populations are not widespread.

August 01, 2016

Harvest, psyllids & new varieties the hot topics at Texas potato field day

Participants at the 25th annual Texas Potato Breeding and Variety Development Program field day learned that the harvest is underway, that psyllids are threatening unharvested fields and that new varieties are showing lots of promise.