EEUU: Stealth potato virus threatens US french fry industry

Several newly evolved strains of the disease known as potato virus Y, or PVY, can render potatoes unmarketable and reduce crop yield. What’s worse is the new viruses are particularly difficult to detect with the naked eye.

“In the last five years or so that we’ve been watching this, the common PVY-O strain appears to be becoming less common and new strains, such as PVY-NO and PVY-NTN, are becoming more common,” said Washington State University potato specialist Mark Pavek.

More than 130 potato industry professionals from the U.S., Canada and India learned about the challenges of detecting new potato viruses in a workshop hosted by the WSU Othello Research Farm in June 2016.

“We used to be able to grow out samples from seed crops to visually inspect for symptoms,” Pavek said. “Now we have to rely on lab testing.”

Quick test kits have been developed and are often used to confirm the presence of the virus from a leaf sample. But since symptoms aren’t visible, growers would have to test every single plant – an expensive and impractical prospect.

Potato researchers have developed some varieties that are resistant to PVY, but they are not yet widely adopted largely because they are relatively new to the industry and processors rely on a wide mix of potato varieties for different purposes. At this point, resistant potato varieties may only fit one niche.

As part of a national effort to protect the industry and raise awareness among industry professionals, WSU recently hosted a potato virus detection workshop at its Othello (Wash.) Research Farm.

“What we’re doing here is important for the whole country and probably potato production worldwide,” said Pavek. “There’s a lot that goes into getting potatoes to the plate that people don’t see.”

Click here to read the full article at news.wsu.edu.