Canadian seed potato fields were free of potato wart in 2024 according to survey results, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Tuesday.
This marks the third consecutive year the survey did not detect disease, though the 2022 survey did not include fields in Prince Edward Island, which struggled with the disease that year.
The 2024 survey analyzed more than 2200 samples collected from seed potato fields in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Samples came from fields with no association with previous potato wart cases, the CFIA said in a news release.
The survey monitors for the presence of potato wart, and provides data to help verify that control measures are working.
Detection of potato wart in P.E.I in 2021 and 2022 led to export restrictions and mitigation orders.
The federal government has been working on a potato wart response plan, which the CFIA said would soon be implemented. The order will include improved risk mitigation measures like enhanced biosecurity, soil sampling and analysis.
