Verticillium wilt is the main culprit for potato early die complex.

Early bird may dodge verticillium woes in potatoes

Pushing a problem field to the front of the planting queue may help limit infection

Verticillium wilt is a problem for a lot of crops in Manitoba, including canola, sunflowers and alfalfa. In potatoes, the fungus Verticillium dahlia is the main cause of potato early die complex. In a 2021 interview with the Co-operator, Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba soil scientist and main investigator with the Canadian Potato Early Dying Network, suggested the condition

Field stress can translate to potato skin flaws.

The ugly truth of tuber trauma 

Field stresses may mean less than pretty potatoes come fall

Life can be tough on a tuber. Lots of things can cause blemishes or otherwise diminish the visual quality of a potato. It could be herbicide injury, North Dakota State University plant pathologist Andy Robinson said. Or the tubers might have been jostled by harvest equipment. Maybe it’s just a consequence of field conditions. “Lots


Fertigation aims to maximize tuber production over vegetative growth.

Setting up fertigation in potato crops for success

Manitoba farmers show how they’ve made the irrigation-fertilization marriage work

Potato producer Sheldon Wiebe, who farms near MacGregor, can wax poetic about how production has evolved on his operation, J.P. Wiebe Ltd., since its inception in the mid 1960s. Like other Manitoba potato farmers, the introduction of irrigation is part of that story, but today the practice is about more than just water. Today, the

The good news about adopting biologicals is they don’t require drastic changes to conventional practices.

Is the picture of biologicals clearing?

Understanding what the industry offers is a big part of finding an answer

The interest in biologicals is growing quickly, including in the potato sector.  For the National Potato Guide, we asked representatives of two companies involved in the sector, Can Grow Crop Solutions and Vive Crop Protection (with Pro Farm), for their perspectives on where the potato sector is heading with biologicals.  The biologicals sector can be


Mustard has been registered as biofumigant to help with verticillium wilt control in potatoes.

Potato growers have another option against verticillium wilt

Registration of a new mustard hybrid could also help combat nematodes

In the past few years, growers in the horticulture sector have had to cope with government deregistration of several active ingredients, leaving many to try different measures and concepts to deal with challenges of diseases and insect pests. Now comes word of a return to yesterday, of sorts, employing a newly registered male sterile mustard

Supplemental irrigation (SI) was a production aspect of potato production examined by through the Living Lab – Atlantic project.

First Living Lab focused on potatoes

Federal funding program helped look at cover crop effects and reducing tillage in potatoes

The first Living Lab – Atlantic program was heavily focused on potato research and has led to an increase in the integration of cover crops into potato growing areas in Prince Edward Island.  The Living Lab was led by the East Prince Agri-Environment Association (EPAA), with the involvement of the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Potato


Dr. Bourlaye Fofana from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) believes the SIGS concept holds tremendous potential in combating diseases in potatoes.

Revolutionary technology shows promise in potatoes

The potential for spray-induced gene silencing seems extraordinary, but it could help with disease control in potatoes

In February 2022, an email was circulated by Dr. Eugenia Banks of the Ontario Potato Board, about a new method for control of late blight in potatoes, called spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS). The technology has its origins in research by Dr. Aline Koch and a team of German researchers for the control of Fusarium head blight

Martina Strömvik and her research team assembled the genome sequences of nearly 300 varieties of potatoes and their wild relatives.

A blueprint for a better potato

Scientists have created a super pangenome that can be used to help breed more nutritious, disease-resistant and “climate-smart” potatoes

Scientists from McGill University in Montreal have created a super pangenome of potato, which plant breeders can use to produce potatoes that are more nutritious, disease-free and climate resilient.  Martina Strömvik, an associate professor and chair of the plant science department at McGill, led the research, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy



Consumers at the wheel of potato market

Consumers at the wheel of potato market

With the rise of the budget-conscious consumer and increasing influence of Gen Z, where does the potato fit?

Circana food industry analyst Vince Sgabellone visibly brightens when he recalls the childhood Sundays when his family wandered the Ottawa Valley hunting for the best chip wagon. “Those days before social media, my parents would follow a tip they heard from somebody at work or one of the neighbours about a food truck parked on