Further progress is being made in the UK and the Netherlands with the tracing and testing programme aimed at identifying the source and extent of infection associated with the recent potato ring rot outbreak in Herefordshire.

In the Netherlands, a finding has just been identified in the 2004 potato crop, involving Sante potatoes derived from a stock with a clonal link to the stock supplied to Herefordshire, as well as to the farm in Lincolnshire which is under investigation. Further work is underway in the Netherlands to investigate this finding and whether the clonally linked stock may have been a factor in relation to the UK outbreak. It is too early in the investigation to provide a conclusive answer on this issue. None of the 2004 crop of potatoes from the Dutch grower concerned have been supplied to the UK.

The second phase of the UK sampling and testing programme, involving the 2004 crop, is now underway and will continue as stocks are harvested. The programme is focusing on the outbreak farm in Herefordshire, the farm in Lincolnshire, as well as two other farms (in Norfolk and Newcastle) which received stocks of Sante from another seed potato grower in the Netherlands which supplied the Herefordshire farm.

A further farm (in Suffolk) has recently been included in the investigation because it received potatoes from the farm in Herefordshire for on-farm processing. Checking of the farm's own production is being undertaken as an extra precaution.

BACKGROUND

1. Full details about ring rot can be found on Defra's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ring.htm including Defra's contingency plan for dealing with outbreaks http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ring.pdf

2. The UK's first ring rot outbreak was in 2003. Details are available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ring/repfinal.htm