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Another Idaho field infected with microscopic potato pest, but farmer fallout not expectedBOISE, Idaho (AP)--An eighth field in Idaho has been found to be infected with a microscopic wormlike pest that attacks potato plants, though officials don't expect the same fallout U.S. growers suffered last year. The latest southeastern field infected with the potato cyst nematode is adjacent to two others already infected, officials said Dec. 4. It is the eighth detected in Idaho since 2006. After the nematodes were first discovered last year, Japan banned all fresh U.S. potato imports, and Canada and Mexico banned all fresh potato imports from Idaho. Earlier this year, Canada and Mexico lifted their bans. Japan still bans fresh potatoes from Idaho, but accepts them from other U.S. states. Larry Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture based in Sacramento, Calif., said he didn't anticipate repercussions from the latest infestation. "It won't make a difference in terms of trade situations with other countries," said Hawkins. "We had anticipated that when we did our intensified sampling we might find some fields" with the nematodes. He said extensive testing of Idaho fields since the initial discovery of the nematodes and restrictions on infected fields and other fields thought to be at risk allayed concerns of countries that import U.S. potatoes. "We've been very successful in working with our foreign trading partners," Hawkins said. "They looked at the regulations that we had in place and felt they were sufficient to protect them." The department's Nematology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., confirmed the nematodes in the 145-acre field through DNA testing recently. They were found in one of 125 fields that the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service deemed "associated" with the seven fields previously found to be infected. The associated fields have some connection with the infected fields either through the same owner, the same machinery being used, or seeds from the same source, Hawkins said. The worms feed at the roots of potato plants and can reduce crop production by 80 percent. Officials say the pest is not harmful to humans and doesn't have any effect on the potatoes themselves. The eight infected fields total about 1,100 acres, said Mike Cooper, deputy administrator at the Idaho Department of Agriculture. The seven fields previously identified as infected are undergoing measures to kill the nematodes that include covering the ground with tarps and then fumigating. That plan, which will now include the eighth field, is being paid for with $10.7 million in emergency federal money approved earlier this year. Samples taken after two rounds of fumigation this year show that some nematodes survived, Hawkins said. He said more fumigation rounds are planned in 2008. The infected fields have special restrictions--such as washing farm equipment after it's been in the field--designed to prevent nematodes from spreading. The fields must undergo testing before restrictions can be lifted. After the discovery of the nematodes in 2006, state and federal officials ramped up testing of the region, and Cooper estimated some 80,000 soil samples have been taken. Both Hawkins and Cooper said they wouldn't be surprised if another field is found to have nematodes. "I hope we don't find one, but until we run through all those associated fields we won't know for sure," Cooer said. Idaho grows about one-third of all the potatoes in the United States, producing more than 12 billion pounds of potatoes last year worth about $712 million to farmers. Officials have not been able to determine when or how the nematodes arrived in the state. Nor is it clear how long Idaho will be dealing with the problem. "Our goal is to reach a point where we've eradicated it," Hawkins said. "My crystal ball is not good enough to make a prediction on when that might be." 2/4/08 Date: 1/25/08 Advertisement
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