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different groups across North America
over the past couple of decades show that
moving PVY from an infected tuber to a
healthy one by cutting blades either does
not occur or is rare.
More recently, the Extension seed
potato team at the University of Idaho
conducted a greenhouse experiment
to determine whether hand-cutting an
infected tuber would lead to infection of
healthy tubers cut immediately afterward.
The variety used in the UI experiment was
Russet Burbank, and researchers relied
on naturally infected seed potato tubers
produced in Idaho in an area where
PVY
N-Wi
was the predominant strain.
Results showed that PVY was not
transferred by cutting an infected tuber
followed by cutting healthy tubers.
In short, the available data from
the scientific literature and this new
research overwhelmingly support the
conclusion that seed cutting does not
increase incidence of PVY in a field. In the
few instances where evidence suggests
such movement is possible, very specific
conditions must be met (such as cutting
through an infected eye before cutting a
healthy potato), and it occurred rarely.
Growers who use cut seed can have a
reasonable degree of confidence that the
practice does not put their crop at risk
with respect to PVY.
Kasia Duellman is an assistant professor
and extension seed potato specialist at the
University of Idaho's Idaho Falls Research
& Extension Center. She can be contacted
at (208) 529-8376 or kduellman@
uidaho.edu. Alex Karasev is a professor
of entomology, plant pathology and
nematology at the University of Idaho in
Moscow, Idaho. He can be contacted at
(208) 885-2350 or akarasev@uidaho.edu.
caused by O
PVY. Healthy
Mild mosaic symptoms caused by PVY on potato foliage
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