Growers should ensure farm-saved seed is tested for the virus to avoid costly disease problems, warned the National Institute for Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
While potato leaf roll virus was largely absent this year, a quarter of farm-saved seed potatoes had been infected at some level with potato virus Y, one of the most serious viruses affecting crop yields and tuber quality, said a NIAB representative. To date, one in 10 tuber samples analysed by NIAB showed infection levels of 20 per cent.
"Although overall virus levels are lower than in some years, we are advising potato growers to get farm-saved seed virus-tested."
NIAB is also advising growers to take soil samples for free-living nematode tests, as samples have revealed high populations of Pratylenchus. This could damage root crops, leading to reduced growth, yellowing and lesions.
