June 18, 2024 | Articles

The climate is changing, and so is the cultivation of potatoes

Climate change, everyone is talking about it but what do you do about it and what do you do with it? Paul Struik and Anton Haverkort, both retired potato experts and previously employed at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, have recently addressed these pressing questions. In a broad reflection, they jointly set out…

June 18, 2024 | Articles

Potato in Eastern Africa: the need for alternative seed systems

Crop yields in Africa hardly increased during the last decades. Africa is not self-sufficient, and increasingly dependent on food imports. Harnessing innovations in agricultural production is therefore needed. Potato cultivation by smallholder farmers can play a significant role in enhancing food security and dietary diversity, especially in cool environments. But that requires reliable supply of…

March 19, 2024 | Articles

Integrated approach necessary to control powdery scab

Powdery scab is a nasty seed-borne, soil-borne and even, through contaminated dust, air-borne potato disease. The culprit is Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea (abbreviated as SSS), an obligate, parasitic plasmodiophorid with a wide host range. This parasite affects root systems, but also tubers. Moreover, it is the vector of the potato mop-top virus. From the…