Diseases and pests

November 25, 2020 | Articles

Ground breaking news for the potato sector: Wageningen University finds new resistances

Researchers Dr Jack Vossen, Dr Ben Vosman and Dr Misghina Goitom Teklu of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) present ground breaking news. After intensive research, resistances have now been found in wild potato varieties for pathogens such as Erwinia and Colorado beetle, for which no resistances were yet known and/or available until recently. The researchers…

September 23, 2020 | Articles

FAO photo contest of healthy/unhealthy plants extended

This year the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organi­sation of the United Nations, is organising a photo competition where amateur and professional photographers can submit their images of healthy and unhealthy plants. The deadline has been extended to 15 January 2021, an excellent opportunity to offer the potato an international platform.

June 22, 2020 | Blogs

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans)

In regions where potatoes are grown year-round, such as in tropical highlands, there are always spores of the disease present to infect newly emerging crops. In temperate climates in spring, the sources of inoculum are seed tubers, dumps and cull piles, volunteer plants and asexual zoosporangia or sporangia (single sporangium) blown from elsewhere by the…

March 11, 2020 | Articles

Potato programme without ring rot should give Polish sector new impetus

Sitting at a table piled high with files in his office at the Ministry in Warsaw, the Polish Minister of Agriculture and Development of the rural environment, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowsky talks enthusiastically about his ambitious plans to give the potato sector in his country a new impetus. ‘In the potato programme, which will officially start…

December 06, 2019 | Blogs

Tuber disorders of non-pathogenic origin

Besides infection by pests and diseases, potato is also prone to many disorders of non-pathogenic origin. Such non-pathogenic origins are of an abiotic physiological nature resulting from interaction between the physiology of the growing tuber and its environment. They are generally referred to as physiological disorders.

November 20, 2019 | Articles

Brits are looking for new Phytophthora resistances

Plant scientists from the British University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute are looking for new Phytophthora resistances to produce robust potato varieties. Recently, chief scientist Dr Ingo Hein received additional funding of £626,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).