Gran Bretaña: ProCam’s four steps to minimise viral infection in potatoes

Viruses such as of potato virus Y (PVY) and potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) – which have the potential to cause significant reductions to the quality, yield and value of seed and ware crops – are carried and spread by a range of aphid species including the peach-potato aphid, bird cherry-oat aphid and rose grain aphid.

These species thrive in warm and dry conditions, when they will actively migrate northwards, carrying with them the potential to transmit viruses from one region to the next.

Young potato plants are particularly susceptible to infection by aphid transmission in the first four weeks post-emergence. Beyond this, mature plants will display a greater or lesser susceptibility to infection depending on their genetics, but even the most naturally resilient varieties will still need to be protected.

While seed crops in the North of Scotland are protected to some extent by the natural barrier to aphid migration provided by the cold peaks of the Cairngorms, growers both to the north and south of the Scottish Border must take additional precautions to stem the spread of infection.

With growers no longer able to rely entirely on chemical controls – due to the increasing resistance of some aphid species to current insecticide modes of action – ProCam recommends that seed and ware potatoes must be protected by an array of control measures to minimise their exposure to disease. We advise the following:

1, Variety, rotation and volunteer management

Where possible, virus-resistant varieties should be used to establish the new crop.

Growers should therefore be wary of multiplying their own seed potatoes from the previous year’s crop as these could already contain a high virus loading. Instead, seed potatoes which have been proven to be ‘clean’ should be used.