News on Potato Defects and Diseases from Mexico

Draft quality standards for ware potatoes proposed to the Codex Alimentarius Commission by India during its recent meeting in Mexico, were approved and will apply to global trade in potatoes

In Mexico, researchers of the National Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research Institute (INIFAP), part of the Mexican Ministry of agriculture (SAGARPA), have developed a new potato variety, Citlali, with improved tolerance to diseases.

Researchers from the University of California Riverside and INIFAP (Mexico) identify four potato lines with increased tolerance to Zebra Chip disease

Científicos de la Universidad Autónoma de Campeche (UACAM) desarrollaron nuevas sustancias de origen biológico que controlan y eliminan plagas, como la langosta voladora, el psílido de la papa y el jitomate.

El proyecto consiste en una investigación sobre la fisiología de la planta, involucrando tres niveles tróficos durante la interacción planta-insecto/plaga-depredador.

Investigadores del Instituto de Ecología (INECOL) logran disminuir con un plaguicida denominado bionematicida un gusano llamado nematodo dorado, el cual es responsable de la baja producción de papa en México.

Researchers of the Institute of Ecology (INECOL) in Mexico have identified a fungus capable of feeding on nematodes. Combining this biological control with other methods in an integrated management system reduced the golden nematode population by up to 90 percent in two years.

Científicos de la Red de Biodiversidad y Sistemática, del Inecol, localizaron y probaron con efectividad un hongo capaz de alimentarse del nematodo. Este avance permitirá controlar biológicamente la plaga, anular el uso de productos químicos y contribuir a disminuir el impacto de la agricultura en la ecología de la región.

Mexican authorities have closed the country’s borders to U.S. potato imports citing phytosanitary issues as the reason for the ban, reports freshfruitportal.com.