WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 27
Aroostook Farm their temporary base of
operations over the years.
"I've only been here 18 years," says
Smith (as if 18 years with one employer is
a mere trifle), "but I don't think the farm's
mission has changed much—provide input
that helps make the potato crop in Maine
the best it can be."
The impetus for much of the research
undertaken at Aroostook Farm comes from
the grower-operated Maine Potato Board.
Smith says that while Extension is typically
"on the front lines as problems emerge"
and takes a proactive approach, his farm's
role is more typically geared more toward
mitigating issues with which growers are
already grappling. For example, late blight
and Dickeya studies are top-of-mind now,
as growers in the Northeast continue to
contend with those two diseases. When
Smith first took the job, potato mop-top
virus was a primary concern for growers
and, therefore, for him.
"Quite often," says Smith, "our mission
is static; we don't get to make decisions as
to what we work on. It depends on which
emergency is happening at a particular
time. We like to be proactive, but our
primary objective here is making sure
industry fires are put out as quickly as
possible."
For more than a century, Aroostook
Farm has boasted some of the best
firefighters the potato industry has had to
offer. And you have to believe that with
each fire put out, at least a dozen more
have been prevented.
To learn more about the University of
Maine's Aroostook Farm, visit
www.umaine.edu/aroostookfarm.
In
1945,
Barbara
Howlette
inoculates
young
potato
plants
with
Aster
yellows
virus,
using
the
Aster
leafhopper
as
the
vector.
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