WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 23
large number of tu-
bers involved in the
current WGO, up
to several hundred
thousand depending
on the specific state
certification agency.
More sensitive
laboratory detection
assays may be need-
ed to handle direct
tuber testing in
place of the familiar
ELISA tests.
The direct tuber
testing methods
have to be appro-
priate to handle a
cost-effective high
throughput system
to process a lot of
samples. All these
changes in sample
handling and virus
detection techniques
need to be validated
by the researchers
and accepted by the
potato industry.
Two of the potato
certification agen-
cies, Montana and
Idaho, and several
research teams from
state universities
are involved in the
development and
validation of direct
tuber testing proto-
cols funded through
the SCRI project.
Both in Montana
and Idaho, virus
detection is con-
ducted by a re-
al-time, quantitative
PCR utilizing the
equipment already
present in potato
seed certification
agencies. The Mon-
tana group is testing an immuno-captur-
ing based assay focusing their primary
efforts on PVY, the main cause of seed
lot rejections at the moment. The Idaho
group is casting a wider net and seeing
if they can test for potato leafroll virus
in addition to PVY.
Additional research is being conduct-
ed on chemicals and treatments that
may replace Rindite as better alterna-
tives to the standard dormancy-breaking
agent.
Reducing the decision-making time
for re-certification of seed potato lots is
one of the objectives of the SCRI-fund-
ed research. If successful, it will result
in significant benefits to the U.S. potato
industry.
Information regarding this project
and others can be found at www.uidaho.
edu/potato-virus.
You can contact Olsen at norao@
uidaho.edu and Karasev at akarasev@
uidaho.edu. PG
Winter grow-out field.
