Scotland's head nematologist advises Idaho on PCN infestation
Jon Pickup shared his country’s PCN woes during a public meeting encourage Idaho to continue with their efforts in eradicating the pests in the 5-square-mile quarentine in Bingham and Bonneville county.
“You don’t want the situation we’ve got in Europe,” Pickup said. “Pale cyst nematode is spreading and severely limiting our ability to produce potatoes in the United Kingdom, and it will continue to do that until we have more resistant (potato) varieties and those resistant varieties are accepted by the market.”
Pickup, who participated in an international science review of the U.S. and Canadian PCN management programs, admits he was initially skeptical the outbreak could be contained when Idaho discovered pale cyst nematode in 2007. Pickup claims he was wrong in the assumption and sees the program as a “remarkable success.”
source: capitalpress.com
