PEI Potato Wart Update Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has completed its investigation related to the 2021 detections of potato wart in fields on Prince Edward Island.
National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles says he welcomes the report, it’s an important step, but there are still concerns …
QUARLES … “Up until very recently, and it may be going on to this day, host material, which is potatoes, has still been planted in fields that have detected with the disease.”
That, Quarles says could be problematic …
QUARLES … “If you’re doing that, you’re just perpetuating the disease. You’ve got to get, essentially, the meal for the disease away from it so the disease starves out.”
I asked Quarles if there is a time-limit for when tainted fields can be used again? …
QUARLES … “Ah, that’s the most frustrating thing about Potato Wart Bob, it that it can lay dormant in the soil for decades. And once it comes in contact with host material it can be right back and running again.”
So, does the CFIA just need more time? …
QUARLES … “That really is the challenge because we don’t have a lot more time. You have potatoes from Prince Edward Island moving into the United States every single day, with these risks being unaddressed.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the potato wart problem on
Prince Edward Island and what that means for the U.S.
