News on The Potato Supply Chain from the Americas

The popular Yukon Gold potato was a winner at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto this year, where it topped entries in the seventh annual Seed of the Year competition (east division). Developed by the late Garnet (Gary) Johnston, a research...

Earlier this week the USDA has released their latest estimates of the 2011 fall potato production in the United States.

More than a decade has passed since Jim Tiede was among the growers caught up in a debacle over the first U.S. genetically modified potato variety. Even today, the American Falls, Idaho, farmer copes with the fallout of planting Monsanto's GM potato N...

Idaho potato farmers who harvested later than normal because of a prolonged spring got their crops in without any significant damage before colder weather set in, though they had to push the envelope in some cases. There have been some reports of mino...

Today the USDA published figures on the US potato production in their report "Crop Production". Here is the summary on potatoes:

Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has created a J$250-million (about 3 million USD) special line of credit for farmers of onion and Irish potato, accessible through the National People's Co-operative Bank network. Some 450 to 500 farmers are said to b...

Private labels and a switch back to paper bags are among the packaging trends cited by Prince Edward Island potato grower-shippers. In packaging, Gary Linkletter, president and co-owner of Summerside-based Linkletter Farms Ltd., cited a trend toward p...

Se llevó a cabo un interesante contacto entre la primera autoridad de la ciudad y productores paperos de la región, alrededor de veinte, a los efectos de iniciar el proceso de lo que puede ser la futura planta procesadora de papa. El intendente Juan P...

Potato production in Sub-Saharan Africa has more than doubled since 1994. Despite these gains, potato yields of small-scale farmers in the region fall short due to a potent combination of inadequate supply of high-quality seed and limited awareness of ...

La producción de papa en el África subsahariana se ha duplicado desde 1994. Sin embargo, es una producción inestable debido principalmente a un suministro inadecuado de semillas de alta calidad y al limitado conocimiento de mejores prácticas de gestión...

According to the findings of a new study released by the United States Potato Board (USPB), fresh potatoes are more of a planned purchase than ever. But at the same time, this research paints the picture of a potato shopper as someone who is more prone...

Prince Edward Island grower-shippers likely won’t export as many potatoes to the Caribbean and other markets this year. Greg Donald, general manager of the Charlottetown-based Prince Edward Island Potato Board, agreed that a more normal European crop ...

Penford Food Ingredients launched a potato-resistant starch, PenFibe™ RS, which allows manufacturers to add dietary to a wide variety of food applications. PenFibe RS features a low water-holding capacity for increased solids/bulk without affecting pro...

A simple barrier technology has tested effective to prevent the spread and infestation of Andean potato weevils, while also protecting the biodiversity of insects, including natural enemies of pests. An ordinary sheet of plastic is proving to be a sim...

Zebra chip, a disease that affects potatoes, was recently found in the potato-growing regions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The discovery brings to focus the growing need for scientific answers – something that will be discussed at the SCRI Zebra Ch...

In light of the recent confirmation of zebra chip in Idaho, Focus on Potato, a nonprofit potato crop management resource, has made open access its presentation on Zebra Chip Disease of Potatoes by Gary Secor of North Dakota State University. This pres...

A “boom or bust” cycle of rain, then drought, then more rain turned out well for Prince Edward Island potato growers, who expect good quality and little late blight pressure. The only wrinkle in 2011-12 could be undersized burbank russets. Early fall...

'Focus on Potato' of the Plant Management Network has published a new webcast: Common Scab of Potatoes By Thomas A. Zitter Ph.D., Professor, Dept of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York