TABLE CONTENTS

Preliminary trials indicate that these plant-based products have the potential to accelerate
PCN decline within an integrated management system once optimum treatment regimes are
further clarified.
An Update on the New Discovery of Globodera pallida in the USA
Hafez, S.L. (1), P. Sundararaj (1) & S.J. Turner (2)
(1) University of Idaho, Parma Research and Extension Canter, 29603 U of I Ln, Parma, Idaho 83660, USA; (2)
Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK
Idaho is the largest potato producer in the United States, growing about one-third of the
country’s potato production (12.5 billion pounds), which earned farmers about US$700
million and was worth about US$2 billion to the state. In 2006 cyst nematodes were
discovered in tare dirt at a potato (Solanum tuberosum) processing facility in eastern Idaho.
The morphology of cysts and second-stage juveniles, together with molecular analyses,
established the identity of the species as the pale cyst nematode Globodera pallida (Stone,
1973) Behrens, 1975. Discovery of G. pallida in Idaho was significant to potato producers
and exporters since it can attack the potato roots and reduce yields by up to 80% and severely
restrict trade. Early discovery of PCN in Idaho provided the opportunity to implement an
efficient management / elimination program that could minimize future potato production
costs and enhances product quality and marketability. Though PCN is widely distributed in
many potato-growing regions throughout the world, its infestation in Idaho appears to be
isolated. Additional surveillance programs have been initiated to contain further spread of
the pest to neighboring fields within the vicinity. Regulations were implemented to restrict
the movement of plants and soil with appropriate sanitation procedures for equipment used
on the regulated field for the spread of this nematode. Appropriate crop rotation and the use
of certified seed and nematicides are an effective and practical strategy to enhance PCN
decline rates. This, together with regular sampling to monitor PCN viability levels in the
infested regions, is the basis for the eradication program now in place.
This PCN discovery is an example of how industry and government can come together to
establish a co-ordinated management program to deal effectively with this newly introduced
legislated pest.
5 th International Congress of Nematology, 2008 171