The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is asking Island residents to plant only approved potato seed in their gardens this spring.
The Plant Health Act requires everyone who grows more than 0.1 hectare of potatoes on Prince Edward Island to plant Foundation-class seed or better. The regulation does not technically apply to home gardeners since they usually grow less than 0.1 hectare of potatoes. However, the department is requesting gardeners to follow the regulation to help protect the Island potato crop from possible disease outbreaks.
"We want to encourage home gardeners to plant good quality seed," said David Aiton, Potato Quality Program Leader. "I am appealing to gardeners to follow the regulations."
The department is asking gardeners to obtain quality seed from commercial growers or from garden centres. Potatoes suitable for planting may be sold in bags tagged according to seed class. Table potatoes should not be used as seed. Planting poor-quality seed could result in disease outbreaks that could contaminate the crops of commercial farmers.
"The potential for the garden crop to spread disease is very high," said Aiton.
The department is particularly concerned about late blight since last year's A2 strain affected a significant portion of the Island potato crop. This strain has the ability to overwinter in potatoes and can be carried in table potatoes bought for seed by home gardeners.
Morley Wood, chairman of the Prince Edward Island Potato Board, is also asking home gardeners to help the industry with its quality improvement efforts.
"The past year was a very difficult one for producers," said Mr. Wood. "The industry is working hard to improve quality and we are asking home gardeners for their assistance and co-operation in planting only high quality seed potatoes and taking steps to control diseases."
Growing potatoes in the home garden without adequate blight control measures could result in late blight in Island gardens, Aiton said. Each lesion on a blight-infected potato leaf can produce 500,000-700,000 spores with each spore capable of spreading the disease to another potato plant. Blight spores can be blown by winds up to 15 kilometres from where they originated -- causing real worry to commercial potato farmers.
"An outbreak of late blight could damage the commercial potato crop which provides great economic value to this province," Aiton said. "I would ask home gardeners to be aware of the problems associated with planting poor-quality seed."
The department's request to plant quality potato seed has been well received by some home gardeners. Last month, Aiton spoke to about 200 members of the Charlottetown Garden Club who "were very receptive" to the plan.
For more information contact Wayne MacKinnon at 368-4888