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P.E.I. offers new potato seed testing service

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P.E.I. offers new potato seed testing service

The Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture is
offering a new service to potato growers that will test potato seed lots for
the Fusarium dry rot disease.

January 6, 2011,
Charlottetown, PEI – The Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture is
offering a new service to potato growers that will test potato seed lots for
the Fusarium dry rot disease.

If found, the Fusarium
species will be tested for sensitivity to commonly used fungicides. The service
will help growers ensure that they are using a fungicide that is effective
against any Fusarium that may have affected seed lots.

“Seed potatoes infected
with Fusarium can rot after planting and cause misses in the field,” said Brian
Beaton, potato industry coordinator with the department. “Even if plants grown
from infected seed do emerge, they often have reduced vigour and yield.”

Beaton said that over
the last number of years there has been an increasing amount of Fusarium seed
piece decay in seed lots, and a number of the strains of Fusarium are showing
resistance to commonly used fungicides.

The test will take
approximately two weeks. Growers are advised to collect a sample of about 10
tubers. Any tubers that are showing disease symptoms should be included in the
sample especially if they have cuts or cracks. Tubers that are completely
rotted or broken down should not be included.

The samples can be
placed in a sealed plastic bag and submitted as soon as possible to the
research station in Charlottetown. There is no cost for the testing service.