Europe
Netherlands: Over 28% of Tested Seed Potato Lots Downgraded After Virus Checks
Early post-harvest virus tests by the Dutch inspection service NAK show downgrading in just over 28% of cases, with only about 15% of samples analysed so far.
International edition
Сrop protection
391 stories
Сrop protection
Japan: Farmers Rally Against Opening Market to US Fresh Potatoes as Talks Reach Final Stage
About 120 farmers and supporters protested at the Prime Minister's Office on 24 September against lifting limits on US fresh potatoes. They cite pest risks and crop rotation in Hokkaido.
America
US: Late Blight Keeps Spreading in the Northeast as Wisconsin Disease-Risk Values Stay Above the Action Threshold
New late blight detections were confirmed on tomato in New York and Vermont this month, and potato cases were reported earlier in Michigan and Quebec. In Wisconsin, disease-risk values remain above the threshold as potato harvest continues.
Asia
India: Punjab Sets Firm Planting and Haulm-Cutting Deadlines for Seed Potatoes to Keep Aphid-Borne Viruses Out
Seed potato crops in Punjab must be planted by 15 October and have their haulms cut by 31 December, under a new standard procedure. The aim is to protect seed tubers from viruses carried by aphids.
Сrop protection
Peru: Late Blight, Not Smaller Plantings, Is Driving Potato Prices, Says Farm Federation Conveagro
Peru's farm federation Conveagro blames the spread of late blight for rising potato prices. It warns that drought could cut up to 1.7 million tonnes from a crop that usually reaches 3.7 million tonnes.
Сrop protection
Poland Opens PLN 4 Million Tender to Train Farmers Against Potato Ring Rot and Brown Rot
Poland's farm payments agency ARiMR is accepting bids from 22 September to 23 October 2026 for a PLN 4 million programme of free biosecurity training aimed at two quarantine bacteria of potato.
News
Ethylene Over Chemistry: How the Global Potato Industry Is Tackling Storage After the CIPC Ban
Harvest season is when growers decide not just how much they've brought in, but how to keep it. And the world's toolkit for that keeps shrinking: chlorpropham (CIPC), the sprout suppressant that dominated storage rooms for decades,…
News
Potato Farming Returns to Central Saanich After 40-Year Ban Lifted
One of the most notable developments in the potato sector is the lifting of a ban on potato cultivation in the Central Saanich community of British Columbia, in place since 1982 due to the golden nematode. The…
Potato diseases
Brown target-like spots on the leaves: Alternaria is moving up the lower canopy
Dry brown lesions with concentric rings on potato leaves point to Alternaria. Field diagnosis, differences from late blight, a control programme and the common mistakes.
News
Rosselkhoznadzor Inspects 452 Hectares of Potato Fields in Ulyanovsk Region, Finds No Quarantine Pests
From August 1 to 19, 2026, inspectors from Rosselkhoznadzor surveyed 452 hectares of potato plantings in the Staromainsky and Ulyanovsky districts of the Ulyanovsk region. The monitoring covered fields of two agricultural enterprises and also included inspections…
News
Russian Potato Viruses Prove More Cunning Than Expected – Scientists Decode Mutant Y-Virus Strains Nationwide
A sweeping genetic survey of potato viruses across 18 Russian regions has revealed an alarming reality: the most destructive pathogen – potato virus Y (PVY) – is not only ubiquitous but has also evolved into recombinant forms…
Potato diseases
China Suspends Seed Potato Imports from Affected Countries Over Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum Concerns
Effective August 1, 2026, China has implemented stringent new phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction of Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), a quarantine bacterium linked to severe crop diseases including Zebra Chip in potatoes. Under Announcement No. 72 of…