Research

Potatoes USA, the national marketing, research, and promotion board for the potato industry, elected Shelley R. Olsen as Chair of the Board at its annual meeting. Potatoes USA also announced its Executive Committee members to lead the organization through 2024-2025.

Farmers in the southeastern United States struggle with the invasive guava root-knot nematode, a microscopic roundworm, which infects and damages a variety of crops, particularly sweet potatoes.

This year’s Hutchinsons Potato Demonstration Day, held at Worth Farms, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, focussed on potential solutions to address some of the key challenges faced by UK potato growers.

Prof Ian Toth, a distinguished figure in the potato research community, has been appointed as the new President of the European Association for Potato Research (EAPR).

The variety release committee of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has recently announced that three of Solynta’s hybrid true potato varieties have been approved for distribution in Kenya.

En Castilla y León se pone en marcha un plan piloto para la detección temprana de enfermedades que puedan afectar cultivos.

The OptiClean initiative, supported by a DKK 5.5 million (USD 790,000) grant from Denmark's Green Development and Demonstration Programme (GUDP), aims to tackle the problem of half-rotten carrots in consumers’ vegetable drawers.

The PEI Potato Board recently welcomed a 15 member delegation from the
Philippines.

John Sedgwick, the UK Potato Supply Manager at Lamb Weston, has been officially named the new Board Chair of the UK Potato Processors’ Association (PPA).

SNAC International Business Members unanimously approved a new slate of officers to serve on the Executive Committee, as well as a new class of Directors-at-Large to serve on the Association’s Board of Directors. 

The concept of foliar applied preparations is based on science, but when they were initially introduced in the late 1990’s many of the initial products had drawbacks, such as leaf scorch, low active volumes per application, poor uptake and even phytotoxicity.

The lack of quality seed for improved varieties has been attributed to the limited capacity of seed multipliers to produce enough to meet farmer’s demands.

Scientists have discovered that calcium plays a significant role in enhancing the resistance of potato plants to bacterial wilt. This disease causes worldwide losses of potatoes costing USD 19 billion per year.

The proposal has passed through negotiations and advanced to the Agriculture Ministry’s 100-Day Agenda.

The UK's leading potato sprout control technology provider has confirmed it is exhibiting at SPot Store on 14th May.

The countdown to the World Potato Congress 2024 has begun and the excitement is building. The team is working hard behind the scenes to ensure the 2024 Congress is one to remember, with a number of exciting announcements.

The Food Production Solutions Association announced that it has hired Matthew R. Ott as its new President and CEO.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the appointment of 32 members to Potatoes USA’s Board of Directors.