Canada: Potato researchers join forces
The research will focus on giving potato farmers a technological edge in predicting and preventing yield losses in their fields and in storage.
Scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Potato Research Centre in Fredericton will be leading the research efforts. Researchers from Canada, France and New Zealand will use the new discoveries about potato DNA, microbial life in the soil and insect behaviour to find better ways to measure the health and quality of potato plants and tubers.
The research will focus on three major causes of potato yield loss:
• the spread of the virus PVY by aphids;
• potato common scab caused by a bacterial disease; and
• a condition in storage called cold sweetening that reduces the colour quality of potatoes when they are fried.
The larger goals are to find methods to decrease diseases in the field and to have research that can be used by software and hardware developers to create hand-held diagnostic devices for potato farmers. The instruments could be used to quickly sample plants and tubers in the field and storage for a wide range of health and quality issues.
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