Potato Wart Disease Fields Get All-Clear

A major exercise to clear fields that were placed under restriction to fight Potato Wart Disease has ended and 750 fields have now been declared disease-free.

Potato Wart Disease is caused by a soil-borne fungus prevalent in parts of Ireland in the early 20th century. Presence of the fungus, an internationally listed quarantine pest, caused one field to be excluded from potato production with restrictions placed on the whole surrounding townland. Exclusion from potato production was the only means to control the spread of the fungus, which can remain viable in the soil for over 30 years.

Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill congratulated those involved in the scheme.

She said: "This announcement will benefit the local potato production industry.The availability of clean land, free of fungal disease such as Potato Wart Disease will enable producers to grow varieties in demand for home ware trade and expand the availability of land for seed export production."

This is the culmination of a 10-year plan of systematic sampling and testing of all land identified as having had an outbreak of Potato Wart Disease. From 2000 to 2011, inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) implemented this ambitious plan, which involved extensive soil sampling and the planting of tubers under the guidance of Plant Pathologists from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

The Minister concluded: "I welcome the fact that the north of Ireland is alone internationally in achieving de-scheduling of the entire territory through this method."

(NE/GK)