Researchers at the University of Lethbridge have received funding for projects focused on potatoes. (Photo: Photo 77926945 © Branex | Dreamstime.com)

By Justin Goulet

University of Lethbridge researchers receive funding for potato-focused projects

Apr 18, 2023 | 9:47 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Researchers at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) have received funding for new work focused on potatoes.

Through the Agriculture Funding Consortium, the U of L researchers are getting nearly $250,000 to improve sustainable potato production. They will do this by looking at ways to reduce disease in the field and in storage, and to increase production while minimizing the use of resources.

Dr. Larry Flanagan, a biology professor, has received almost $50,000. That funding will be used to test six types of potatoes used in fry and chip processing for their water-use efficiency under typical growth and irrigation practices in southern Alberta.

In a news release from the U of L, Flanagan said, “Our research will benefit the potato industry in southern Alberta by providing new information to producers.”

“The efficient use of water in crop production in an arid region like ours is an important goal for increasing sustainable potato production.”

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Flanagan and partners from the U of L, Dr. Michele Konschuh and Dmytro Yevtushenko, and Dr. Jonathan Neilson from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will apply stable isotope techniques to identify water-efficient potato varieties for use in crop production under anticipated future warmer and dryer conditions that could stress water resources.

POTATO PATHOGENS AND PESTS

In a separate project, Yevtushenko was awarded $200,000 to develop and validate protocols to detect potato pathogens and pests.

The biology professor stated, “Disease incidence in both the field and in storage remains a major limiting factor in sustainable potato production. The aim of this study is to develop diagnostic molecular protocols for fast and reliable identification of the major existing and emerging potato pests and pathogens in Alberta.”

Yevtushenko’s work will focus on identifying nematodes, which are parasites, and fungal diseases like pint rot, potato stem canker and black scurf, that are known to cause potato loss in Alberta. Yevtushenko will work alongside Dr. Michele Konschuh and Jie Feng, who is a research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation.

The researchers anticipate that the study will lead to the implementation of new technologies that will maintain Alberta’s reputation as a leading Canadian producer of top-quality potatoes and enhance the profitability and sustainability of the potato industry.

Read more: Lethbridge News Now