UK seed potato body combats climate-driven challenges

Warming temperatures mean more aphids that spread disease, which has the potential to damage Scotland’s very clean, virus-free crops. The continent has been battling viruses in their potato crops for decades, but warming temperatures mean the issue is heading north. The SPO represents a third of all the seed potato acres in Scotland and has been busy raising funds from its members and using this to support a number of initiatives and projects. They backed the SRUC’s virus summit in December to help cover some of the costs. They are also investigating the use of food colouring on newly emerged potato plants in a bid to confuse aphids. Trials have already been conducted on carrots by Agrivista with excellent results, showing a significant reduction in virus transmission. Scottish Agronomy is trialling sprays on newly emerged fields with green food colouring, which makes it hard for aphids to identify individual plants to feed on. The camouflage trials use a food colouring dye that ...