The European Wireworm Research Network (EWRN) will host a workshop on July 7th at the Scandic Fornebu Hotel in Oslo, Norway, focusing on wireworm infestations in potato crops. Keynotes include experts discussing management, challenges, and risk assessment. Country updates and scientific posters will be presented, and participants will engage in collaborative discussions. This event aims to unite researchers and professionals in addressing wireworm issues.
Josh Parsons, an R&D scientist at PepsiCo’s Rhinelander, Wisconsin, farm leads a team combining traditional breeding with modern tools to cultivate high-quality potatoes for Lay’s chips. They grow new potato varieties through data-driven cross-pollination. These varieties are selected for yield, disease resistance, nutrition, and taste, aligning with PepsiCo’s sustainability and nutrition goals. Despite the lengthy nine-year development process, only a few seeds become successful.
The federally funded “Potato Virus Initiative” aims to combat Potato Virus Y (PVY) and Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV) through collaborative research involving over 25 researchers. Led by the University of Idaho, the project focuses on virus management strategies, detection methods, breeding resistant varieties, and effective in-season management. Key findings include advanced detection methods, optimal post-harvest detection, innovative treatments for dormancy break, soil microbiome insights, and breeding for resistance.
Ohalo has unveiled Boosted Breeding™, a groundbreaking new technology set to revolutionize global agriculture. This innovative system allows plants to inherit the complete genetic composition from both parents, resulting in offspring with enhanced traits, such as increased disease resistance and drought tolerance. Early trials indicate potential yield gains of 50-100%+. The technology also enables the generation of genetically uniform seeds for crops traditionally not grown from seeds, like potatoes, offering a scalable, cost-effective alternative to vegetative propagation.
McCain Foods and Potatoes New Brunswick have extended their support for Dalhousie University’s McCain Research Chair, reinforcing their commitment to sustainable agriculture and food security. Dr. Ahmad Al-Mallahi, holding this position since 2018, focuses on developing advanced agricultural technologies. His team has produced prototypes that optimize farm productivity and has recently been granted more support for another five years. This partnership aims to integrate cutting-edge technologies with regenerative farming practices.
The concept of plant intelligence is revolutionizing agriculture, highlighting potatoes’ ability to perceive and respond to environmental stimuli through complex biochemical processes. This intelligence allows potatoes to adapt, communicate, and solve problems, such as optimizing root systems and photosynthesis. Recognizing these abilities can advance farming techniques, making them more sustainable and productive. Recent studies underscore how potatoes utilize these capabilities for nutrient uptake, pathogen resistance, and overall survival, offering strategies for precision agriculture and sustainable farming practices.
The James Hutton Institute secures additional funding to continue its role in the Fight Against Blight (FAB) scheme, protecting Britain’s potato crops against late blight. Initiated in 2006, the scheme involves a network of FAB Scouts monitoring Phytophthora infestans across the UK. This project, vital for early detection and management of new resistant strains of blight, is supported by a consortium of industry leaders. Despite challenges like resistance and regulatory pressures, the collaborative effort aims for effective blight control and sustainable farming practices.
Dr. Bourlaye Fofana and AAFC researchers are evaluating 384 diploid potato clones for drought resistance and maturity traits. They aim to enhance genetic diversity and resilience in potatoes. Focusing on diploids could lead to new varieties better adapted to climate changes. 50 promising clones will progress in the breeding process, potentially improving future potato crops in Canada. This research aims to create potatoes that are early or moderate-late maturing with drought resistance.
Researchers have found that calcium significantly boosts resistance in potatoes against bacterial wilt, a pathogen impacting global potato production with annual losses of $19 billion. The study demonstrates calcium’s potential as soil amendments to counter bacterial wilt. Researchers noted a correlation between calcium levels and disease resistance, suggesting new integrated disease management avenues with focus on calcium enrichment strategies. This could lead to advances in potato breeding and agricultural practices aimed at enhancing disease resistance.
When Scott Anderson and Roger Henry from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) launched the AAFC Plowdown Challenge last year, they aimed to engage farmers in guessing the yield of the Mountain Gem potato variety grown without fertilizer, using manure instead. After a successful year, they introduced a new twist with manure to potentially enhance soil benefits this year. The challenge demonstrates alternative sustainable farming by utilizing residual soil nutrients.
A study by researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, reveals significant challenges potato cultivation faces due to climate change. The research team underscores the importance of developing stress-tolerant potato varieties to maintain global food security amid rising temperatures, drought, and increased pest incidences. The study includes advancements in understanding potato plants’ molecular responses to environmental stress, critical for breeding resilient cultivars.
A comprehensive study from the University of Guelph and SunRISE Potato reveals motivators and barriers in adopting best management practices (BMPs) among Ontario’s potato producers. Enhanced by a System Thinking approach, the research indicates that personal values largely drive adoption, yet structural challenges like market access and stringent regulations hinder it. Insights from this study can inform targeted strategies to improve BMP adoption and enhance sustainable agriculture.
The UK’s Seed Potato Organisation (SPO) considers extreme weather a significant threat to Scotland’s seed potato sector. Rising temperatures have increased aphid-induced diseases, endangering Scotland’s otherwise virus-free crops. Representing a third of Scotland’s seed potato acreage, SPO funds initiatives to combat these issues, including aphid-confusing tactics and supporting disease monitoring projects like those by the James Hutton Institute.
The AHDB plans to invest £1.8 million in leftover levy funds into seven projects to advance the UK potato industry, emphasizing disease management, crisis response, and sector challenges. The projects will address blight, aphids, viruses, public reputation, data transparency, CIPC residue, and nutrient management. With industry support and awaiting ministerial approval, the funding distribution is set for three to five years, aiming to boost potato farming’s future.
The International Potato Center, backed by CGIAR, launched a survey to improve food security in the Global South by developing resilient potato varieties. It seeks data from various agricultural stakeholders to tailor breeding programs to regional needs, thus enhancing yield and sustainability. This effort combines market needs analysis, sustainable practice evaluation, and understanding farmer and consumer preferences to address climate impact on food systems.
Sarah Light and her team studied how potassium chloride application timing affects potatoes, finding that fall applications don’t increase plant chloride and may reduce chloride accumulation since it leaches below the root zone. Their research indicates no significant impact on nitrogen levels, yield, or tuber specific gravity, regardless of fertilizer timing. The study, funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, contributes to optimizing fertilizer use in agriculture.
Potatoes, the world’s fourth most important crop, are under threat from climate change, with rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather challenging production. This article by Lukie Pieterse reviews strategies for enhancing potato resilience, such as breeding climate-tolerant varieties and adopting biotechnology and sustainable practices. Collaborative efforts are vital to secure this staple food’s future, ensuring global food security amidst a changing climate.
Researchers from the University of Prince Edward Island predict significant declines in potato yields due to climate change. Published in the journal Foods, the study forecasts a 6-10% decrease in yields under low-emission scenarios, and up to a 60% drop by the 2070s under high emissions, possibly reaching an 80% reduction by the 2090s. The study underlines temperature increases and variable precipitation as major factors affecting growth and urges the implementation of adaptation strategies.
