By Kyran Maloney on behalf of SAC Consulting (part of SRUC)
We know that potato growers face many challenges, but the threats from pests and diseases loom particularly large.
Earlier and more abundant flights of aphids, susceptible potato varieties, loss of plant protection products to regulation and pest resistance have all combined to make potato growers’ jobs ever more taxing.
This is an issue that affects both seed and ware producers.
As potato crops are vegetatively propagated, the health of seed potatoes is paramount. The UK, and Scotland in particular, has a strong reputation for high health, but in recent years viruses vectored by aphids have put potato crops under increasing pressure.
Healthy seed is the foundation of a productive ware crop, but we should be mindful that ware crops that are not carefully managed may act as sources of potato viruses.
Of all the many aphid-vectored viruses that infect potatoes, it is potato virus Y and potato leaf roll virus that are currently causing most concern. Potato leaf roll was at very low levels in the early 2000s but its incidence has increased rapidly over the past few years.
The three partners of Potatoes in Practice – The James Hutton Institute, SRUC and Agrii -are supporting the potato industry in the face of these elevated threats.
Of course, solid science is only useful if it can be practically applied and if the key messages are delivered to industry in a usable way. Practical and targeted field trials conducted by both SAC Consulting and The Potato Partnership are delivering insights into what works in the field and what novel approaches will be most useful.
A fundamental understanding of the vectors (aphids), the viruses (which have many different strains), and how they interact will be the bedrock on which future control strategies will be built. Researchers at the Hutton and SRUC are actively focused on tackling these issues.
While the challenge of aphid vector viruses is significant, many of our competitor regions are facing exactly the same challenge. Only by working collaboratively can the potato industry safeguard plant health and productivity.
The Potatoes in Practice partners recommend The Six Steps to Virus Management, a consensus document written by the Scottish Aphid-borne Virus Working Group, offering evidence based best practice guidance for growers. SAC Consulting and The Potato Partnership are engaging with the industry and running workshops to get the key messages out, but there is more work to do.
