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38 Potato Grower |DECEMBER 2015 diggin' in INSECTS By Scott Weybright, Washington State University | Photos courtesy Washington State University Earning Their Stripes Researchers receive $2.7 million to research zebra chip Zebra chip disease, caused by a bacterium carried by insects, can ruin a potato crop. But little is known about where it comes from and how it can be avoided. Thanks to a nearly $2.7 million grant from the USDA's Specialty Crop Research Initiative, Washington State University researchers hope to find better ways to manage the potentially devastating pathogen. "If a field is found to be infected, that can lead to rejection of an entire crop," said Bill Snyder, a WSU entomology professor and co-lead on the grant. "Potatoes are expensive to grow, so an outbreak can cause millions of dollars in losses. "Farmers often don't know their field is infected until their potatoes go to the processor," he said. "They may not find out until winter that their crop is worthless— just when they're ready to get paid." REGIONAL TEAMWORK Infected potatoes develop brown lines, like zebra stripes, that are most apparent when fried. The striped sections easily burn and caramelize, leaving a bitter flavor. Though there are no known health risks, the potatoes are unusable. Zebra chip is carried by potato psyllids, an otherwise harmless insect. Psyllids continue to be found in increasing numbers in the Northwest, and zebra chip problems are becoming more common, Snyder said. The research team hopes to decode the genetics of psyllids that carry zebra chip, figure out how the psyllids travel, and eventually create predictive maps that growers can use to determine risk. The team includes Snyder and entomology professor David Crowder, whose labs will study psyllid DNA and psyllid movement patterns; Gerrit Hoogenboom, director of WSU's AgWeatherNet weather monitoring system; entomologists at the USDA laboratory in Yakima, Wash.; an agricultural economist from the College of Idaho; and extension scientists from A LITTLE PROTEIN A potato psyllid, left, is eaten by a predatory big-eyed bug. STRIPES ARE IN Zebra chip disease causes brown stripes that darken and turn bitter when fried, making the potatoes unusable in chips or fries.