Pocatello, Idaho, USA
January 7, 2013
Idaho potato growers and the network of workers who tend and market the state’s most valuable crop will gather Jan. 22-24 at Pocatello for University of Idaho Extension’s 45th annual Potato Conference.
Researchers will update the industry on the newest information about zebra chip, the insect-borne bacterial disease that is the latest threat facing growers and similar current topics.
This year’s agenda will offer a potato science course covering all phases of production from variety development to planting through harvest and storage.
The 34th Ag Expo, a products show geared to all things potato production, will again coincide with the conference.
The conference and expo will take place at the Pond Student Union Building on the Idaho State University campus. Registration costs $20 for Idaho residents and $75 for nonresidents until Jan. 11, and $25 and $90 at the door. Information is online at http://www.idahopotatoconference.com/
Organizers decided to add the potato science course as an overview of all aspects of production, said Nora Olsen, conference co-chair. Participants can attend a presentation about a particular aspect or attend all 9 sessions. Potato agronomy expert Mike Thornton, Parma Research and Extension Center superintendent, shares co-chair duties with Olsen.
“It’s in line with what the University of Idaho is all about: education. The conference highlights the latest and the greatest, but sometimes we have to go back and refresh ourselves on the basics,” said Olsen, University of Idaho Extension’s potato storage expert at the Kimberly Research and Extension Center.
Potato science course topics also include seed physiology, soil and fertility management, seed certification, diseases, irrigation, stress physiology, insects, weeds and vine kill.
Zebra chip, the bacterial disease carried by tiny, cicada-like potato psyllid insects, will be covered in detail with updates on research, growers’ efforts to control psyllids last season and pesticide applicators’ observations, Olsen said.
Neil Gudmestad, a North Dakota State University zebra chip expert, will offer an overview of zebra chip biology.
U-Idaho agricultural economists Paul Patterson and Joe Guenthner will examine zebra chip control costs nationally and in Idaho and the implications for growers.
Bacterial ring rot, a historical threat that flared up again last summer, will be the focus of another session. Other sessions will focus on wind erosion, potato market updates and current pale cyst nematode programs.
U-Idaho livestock specialists Benton Glaze and Rick Norell will address the value of potatoes as livestock feed.
Spanish language workshops focused on zebra chip, sprayer calibration, irrigation scheduling, potato bruising management and other topics also are planned.
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