News

USDA strengthens potato wart safeguards on Prince Edward Island imports

The National Potato Council says increased restrictions on potatoes from Prince Edward Island will better protect U.S. growers from potato wart.

CEO Kam Quarles tells Brownfield, “It’s a highly destructive disease.”

“Once you’ve got it, it’s nearly impossible to get it out of your production areas,” he explains.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending its federal order to require U.S. facilities handling bulk loads of potatoes from Prince Edward Island to responsibly dispose of waste material in a manner approved by the agency.

“You’ve just got to be incredibly sensitive to how destructive this disease is, and your first motivation has got to be to keep it out of the U.S.” he says.

Potato wart was first found in Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 2000, and most recently, a new detection was reported in April of this year. Spores from the fungus can be viable for at least 40 years without a host plant.