Peru: Potato Psyllid Threatens 125,000 Hectares, US$109 Million at Risk — CIP
The spread of the potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) is threatening some 125,000 hectares of potato cultivation in Peru, according to the International Potato Center (CIP), as reported by FreshPlaza. The insect transmits the disease complex known locally as “punta morada” (purple top).
Potential crop losses are estimated at 98,884 tonnes, with an agricultural value of US$109 million, CIP said. In affected fields the disease complex can cause losses of up to 100% of the crop, and the Latin Times reported that the pest’s advance is worrying growers across the country’s potato belt.
The psyllid was first detected in Peru in Huancabamba in 2021, and its range has been expanding since. The insect vectors the bacterium associated with zebra chip and purple top symptoms — medullary discoloration, leaf scorching and, in severe cases, collapse of the canopy before harvest.
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Peru is the centre of origin of the potato, and smallholder farmers in the Andes grow thousands of native varieties alongside commercial crops. An outbreak on the scale CIP warns of would hit both fresh-market supply and seed systems in the region, at a time when European production is also short and global markets are tight.
Diagnostically, the complex involves two separate organisms: the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, the causal agent of zebra chip, and Candidatus Phytoplasma species, which produce the purple top syndrome. Both are carried by the same psyllid vector, which makes field identification difficult and raises the stakes for laboratory diagnostics.
Regional coordination is already in motion. At a workshop hosted at CIP, Colombia’s National Plant Protection Organization ICA presented its management programme for the Bactericera cockerelli – Purple Top – Zebra Chip complex: early detection of the vector in 2021, identification of both pathogens in host plants in the Nariño region, and AI-assisted risk models (MaxEnt and Random Forest) that map the vector’s potential spread under climate-change scenarios, as potatoes.news reported in January.
Regional phytosanitary cooperation on the psyllid is not new: in January, Colombia’s agricultural institute ICA expanded risk-management measures for the potato psyllid across its border regions with Ecuador and Peru, as covered by potatoes.news earlier this year.
Sources: FreshPlaza, Latin Times, inkl.
