A team of researchers will tackle two viruses that cause major losses in the potato industry.
University of Idaho researcher and potato virus expert Alex Karasev will lead the project funded by a $5.8 million grant from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the university said in a news release.
Two dozen scientists will target Potato Virus Y (PVY) and Potato Mop Top Virus (PMTV) in seed potatoes and in potatoes grown for market. The project involves seed improvement organizations that certify seed potatoes are disease-free.
PVY, a serious problem for growers, damages plants and reduces yields and the size of the potatoes, making the crop less valuable. An earlier UI study estimated losses from PVY cost Idaho’s potato industry $34 million a year and reduces potential yields by 10-50%.
Quality-degrading PMTV is transmitted by protists, microbes that have qualities of fungi and algae.
The new four-year project continues work Karasev participated in that was originally led by a New York-based researcher who retired earlier this year.
The most immediate goal is to give potato growers tools to control the viruses with better ways to test plants and fields. A key medium-range goal focuses on strategies to control pests that spread the viruses and to educate growers. A long-range priority is identifying genes that can provide resistance to the viruses and their vectors. Those genes can help potato breeding programs to develop new varieties.
Developing better testing can help seed potato producers limit the spread of the viruses and prevent losses in the field and storage.
Researchers will study the economic impacts of the viruses and develop ways to communicate with and educate growers about the best strategies to reduce the viruses’ impacts.
The project includes university researchers in 10 potato-growing states, including Idaho, Colorado, New York and Oregon, and USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists in Prosser, Wash., and Aberdeen, Idaho. UI researchers in Idaho Falls, Kimberly and Moscow will participate.
“Because of its position as the nation’s top potato-producing state, it is fitting that Idaho is leading the project,” Karasev said.
He won a mid-career award from UI in 2013 partly for his work on PVY, which became an issue for Idaho growers in the early 2000s. He recently turned his attention to PMTV as its threat to the potato industry increased.
September 15, 2020 at 12:45AM
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