Martin Snedden, renowned cricket player and ex CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd the company responsible for staging the extremely successful Rugby World Cup 2011, will open the Potatoes NZ conference on 26 July. Between 2001 and 2007, as CEO Martin headed NZC during a tumultuous period punctuated by issues relating to terrorism, politics and…
Both Pectobacterium atrosepticum and P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum have previously been isolated from potato tubers with soft rot symptoms in New Zealand. Only Pectobacterium atrosepticum has been shown to cause blackleg. Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. wasabiae has been recorded on potato in New Zealand. Both occur sporadically in New Zealand, causing economic damage under optimal temperature…
In 2014 and 2015, growers in many parts of the eastern United States region started to notice blackleg symptoms in fields. However, careful inspection of plants suggested that this was not typical blackleg, which is a seed issue resulting from contamination with Pectobacterium followed by excessively wet growing conditions. In this case, growers noticed significant…
Europe 2005 In 2005/2006, a growing number of cases of potato blackleg/top wilt in Northern Europe and Israel were found to be caused by a previously unrecognised Dickeya sp. frequently referred to as Dickeya sp. biovar 3, now known as D. solani. Dickeya solani is a bacterial pathogen of potato thought to have crossed from…
Download Residue Compliance Information book This compliance information is intended to benefit both domestic and export growers by ensuring easily accessible (and current) MRL (maximum residue limit) and WHP (with-holding period) information is available. The compliance information will help reduce the possibility of residue non-compliance due to lack of information. These guidelines also indicate where…
While 2016 was a boom year for fry exports, there are some clouds gathering on the horizon for 2017. US fry exports have been very disappointing so far and hopes of a one million tonne 12-month US export total are fading or at least being postponed. For the EU, product prices are rising and the…
World Potato trade value surge in 2016 World potato trade surged in both volume and value last year to record levels, with exports of potatoes, potato products, seed and sweet potatoes generating €12.042 billion compared with €10.899 billion in 2015. The figures are based on trade statistics for between 64 and 86 countries depending on…
Seed potato certification is entering its 90th season in New Zealand. I think that is something for the industry to be proud of. Back in 1927 the average potato yield in New Zealand was 14 tonnes per hectare, with 110,000 tonnes being produced from 9345 hectares[1]. Ninety years later the average yield is 51 tonnes…
MPI update on implementation of Fijian food safety requirements for blanched, peeled, chopped, frozen vegetables and herbs, April 2017 Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) has implemented food safety requirements for blanched, peeled, chopped, frozen vegetables and herbs on the 9 March 2017 – read statement. In summary, the requirements (for frozen potatoes) are: Consignments must…
The first reading of the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill was passed in Parliament yesterday (12 April). “Given our recent survey showed that more than 70 percent of New Zealanders want mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) for fresh fruit and vegetables, it is great to see the Government listened to…