November 19, 2003
From: @gWorldwide, 19 Nov 2003 via Reuters [edited]

UK widens controls to keep out potato disease

Britain's farm ministry on Wednesday said it was widening controls aimed at preventing an outbreak of a potentially devastating potato disease. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) stated that it was extending precautionary action against potato ring rot to 3 new farms known to have received seed potatoes of the same variety as those found to be infected on a Welsh farm last week.

3 farms based in the southwest of England were already subject to restrictions after being supplied with seed potatoes from the infected Welsh farm. A DEFRA spokeswoman said one of the 3 new farms facing checks was in the north of England, while the others were in the south.

"This new information merely means that we get the opportunity to make checks -- it does not mean that the disease has spread," the DEFRA spokeswoman said.

The bacterial pathogen, _Clavibacter michiganensis_ subsp. _sepedonicus_, is widespread across Europe, having been identified in recent years in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The disease affects only potato yields and has no impact on human health.

British growers produced 5.8 million tonnes of potatoes in 2003, a 13 percent drop from the previous year, according to recent British Potato Council data.

[Ring rot is an insidious disease and very difficult to manage. The fact that it has been reported from Wales and from 2 widely separated loci in England suggests that there are more cases in the offing. There appear to be at least 2 sources of infected potatoes, because the potatoes in England did not originate from the Dutch farm that supplied tubers to the grower in Wales. - Mod.DH]

November 17, 2003
From: BBC News Online, 13 Nov 2003

Potato disease - more farms suspected

3 more potato farms in the UK are under restriction after the world's most damaging potato disease was found on a mid Wales farm. The disease - bacterial ring rot - has never before been found in the UK.

 The source is at Middlewood Farm in Bwlch, near Brecon. The disease can be described as the potato equivalent of the epidemic foot-and-mouth disease of 2001.

The discovery of the disease was confirmed during an annual survey for ring rot by the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and it is thought the disease was brought into Wales on infected Dutch seed. The additional farms now under restriction -- 1 in Wales and 2 in the Scilly Isles -- had all taken delivery of seed potatoes from the Middlewood Farm over the last few weeks.

Defra officials believe the outbreak is under control, and that it will be contained and eradicated. Experts are also talking to Spanish authorities about 2 consignments exported to the Canary Islands

Although ring rot poses no risk to human health, farmers leaders in Wales had said the news is a "massive blow" to the industry. By comparison, annual losses to US potato farmers caused by ring rot have been as high as 50 percent.

Farmers are also worried about the effect on the seed market if the UK loses its disease-free status.

John Morgan, the farmer at the centre of this outbreak said: "Obviously we're devastated at the news. We're working with the Welsh assembly locally and Defra plant officials to eradicate this disease." Officers from Defra , the Welsh assembly, and the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate are meeting at the farm in the Brecon Beacons to assess the extent of the problem. It is likely crops will have to be burnt or buried.

Meanwhile, experts are trying to trace any other movement of seed potatoes from the farm.  It is known that the farm has exported to Spain and surrounding islands and supplies a vast area of Pembrokeshire, Wales' main potato production area.

Countryside Minister Carwyn Jones has said he is following developments closely. "I can assure farmers that this is being taken extremely seriously by the Welsh Assembly Government and the other authorities concerned," he said.

NFU Cymru's Malcolm Thomas said: "In terms of any wider spread, that would be extremely bad news for the industry, as this [bacterium] is the most potentially dangerous in the potato world."

Brecon and Radnor MP Roger Williams agreed that the priority was the eradication of the disease. "I know the producers concerned have an excellent reputation for crop husbandry and health, and I am sure that this outbreak will not be traced to any negligence on their part."

[The disease is bacterial ring rot, caused by _Clavibacter michiganense_ subsp. _sepedonicus_ (Cms). Wales' potato industry is operated by 95 registered growers who farm 2000 hectares. Production amounts to 86 000 tonnes and is valued at 6.5 million BPS to the economy. Cms occurs throughout Europe, after being identified in recent years in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Defra officials consider it one of the most serious diseases of potato. Cms is spread by infected tubers, and a major concern for plant pathologists in Wales and other parts of the UK is the possibility that seed potato stocks could be infected. Sanitation is the key to disease management. Only classified seed should be used for planting; all machinery, equipment, vehicles, containers such as potato sacks, storage facilities such as bins, and any other possible source of the pathogen must be identified and rigorously cleaned and thoroughly disinfected. Finally, if possible, dispose of all potato waste at an approved tip (dump) or by incineration.

Reference: <http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/rot.htm> - Mod.DH]

from DEFRA

The bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis sepedonicus, which causes ring rot, has been confirmed by the Central Science Laboratory in a sample of potatoes produced from Dutch seed potatoes at a farm in mid Wales. The potatoes came from a consignment produced as seed potatoes for export to the Canary Isles and were checked as part of the annual survey for ring rot

Action is being taken to prevent any spread of the disease from the infected farm and to trace any related potato stocks.

Background:

Full details about ring rot can be found on the Defra web-site at http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/rot.htm.

In tracing related potato stocks, contact is being made with the Dutch authorities to find where else seed of the same variety and origin may have gone in the UK. Should the Welsh farm have sold any potatoes to other destinations in the UK or elsewhere these will also be traced and the relevant authorities informed.