Potato Grower

WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 11 Syngenta researcher Kiran Shetty leaves an indelible mark on the potato industry By Chris Harrell Photography by Martin Brown caught his attention, and his teachers encouraged him to look at educational opportunities outside India. Shetty applied to Uni- versity of Idaho because of its excellent reputation for generating potato-production research. "Pursuing education in the U.S. was like fishing," Shetty says. "Just cast out the line and see if anything will bite. I got some bites, but funding was a problem." Shetty's father wasn't prepared to pay for a U.S. education, but Shetty's mother sold some of her property to help cover the cost. Still, it wasn't enough for a full semester. "I came here with the resources she could provide, knowing she'd rolled the dice for me in a big way," Shetty says. In greenhouses and wheat fields, Shetty worked his way through the semester. Then Robert Dwelle, division chair for plant sci- ence at UI, took Shetty under his wing. Working under Dwelle, Shetty focused on the use of shrink- wraps to extend potato shelf life. The shrink-wrapped pota- toes seen in grocery stores today are a direct result of Shetty's research. A Professional Success After two years in post-doctoral studies at UI, the Overseas Mer- chandise Inspection Company hired Shetty to build a lab from scratch in Portland, Ore., which he did. But when a position at UI became available, he returned to Idaho, where he was stationed in Twin Falls as the area extension specialist for the next five years. At the time, silver scurf, an important post-harvest disease, was causing an estimated $8.6 million loss in Idaho's fresh potato market. Learning to manage the disease was priority No. 1. Shet- ty, located in south-central Idaho, was able to study the disease on both sides of the state. For the next three years, he surveyed growers, visited storage facilities, presented at conferences and developed solutions. As a result of his work, losses declined to below $1.5 million. It was one of the major milestones of Shetty's career. "I've known Kiran since he was an assistant professor at UI, and I cherish the relationship," says Neil Gudmestad, distinguished professor of plant pathology at North Dakota State University. "He genuinely cares about you, your family and this industry that he's spent so much time serving." In 1997, Novartis, a Syngenta legacy company, offered Shetty a position building the research dossiers necessary to register seed treatments for market use. Among his achievements is bringing liquid seed treatments to the potato industry. Liquids distribute active ingredients onto seed pieces more evenly than dusts and are less airborne, reducing potential breathing hazards to appli- cators. Prior to this development, the potato industry had used dust seed treatments, because applying liquids to seed pieces caused rot and reduced emergence. Shetty's team broke the mold with post-application procedures and a drying agent that made liquid applications feasible for potatoes. "I hear Kiran's name referenced a lot when it comes to driving chemicals forward in a positive way," says Jim Pitreau, vice pres- ident of operations at Green Thumb Farms. "He's an advocate for potato farmers and treats everyone with respect, whether they've been farming for one year or 50." The King of Fruits Every year, Shetty travels back to India, visiting family and friends and checking on the 2.5-acre mango farm he purchased where he grew up. "It's a small farm—a garden really," Shetty says, "But it goes back to my boyhood love of agriculture. I sought out a relationship with farming because it's where I began and want to continue." But he doesn't market the mangoes. Not surprisingly, he gives them to those in need and saves a few for his family. "Everyone likes mangoes," Shetty says. "It's the king of fruits." This article originally appeared in Syngenta's Thrive publication.

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