Feds back plan to fight potato cyst nematode

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

There’s no sign of the potato cyst nematode in Ontario but if it ever does arrive, a control strategy that a Quebec research centre is developing will come in handy, says the Ontario Potato Board’s general manager.

On Thursday, the federal government announced that it was granting $700,000 to the Centre de recherche Les Buissons inc. to develop an integrated parasite management strategy for the pest.

According to the federal news release, potato cyst nematodes are major parasites that can negatively affect potato production. The funding backs study of the parasites’ biological traits.

Don Brubacher, Ontario Potato Growers’ general manager, says a nematode infestation was found in Quebec in 2007. Shortly after, there was a positive test in Alberta but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which conducts annual surveys for the nematode, could never find a second sample that was positive, he explains.

Despite the lack of confirmation, the sighting “made it difficult” for Alberta’s seed potato industry, which exports into the United States, Brubacher says. The finding in Quebec meant a “significant hit in production,” for that province.

Brubacher says he was aware that the centre applied for funding but he was not aware the money had been announced.

The non-profit centre, which specializes in potato and small northern fruit research, is located 400 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. BF