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Potato Summit in numbers: What you may have missed
January 30, 2025 By Potatoes in Canada
For the fifth year, potato producers, agronomists, researchers, business leaders and enthusiasts alike gathered virtually for Potatoes in Canada‘s virtual, half-day Canadian Potato Summit.
Six guests delivered five sessions focused on pests, diseases, breeding and more. Guests – and attendees – represented various areas of Canada, and discussed matters pertaining to producers across potato categories.
Here are some of the highlights you might have missed, by the numbers.
7.5
Potato production across all sectors in the Northeast – which is comprised of P.E.I., New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec and Maine – rose by 7.5 per cent over 2023. This included double-digit increases in New Brunswick and Quebec. That’s according to United Potato Growers of Canada general manager Victoria Stamper, who kicked the day off with an industry update.
Canadian production overall was down slightly from 2023, but still higher than the five-year average. “We’re seeing a bit of a tighter inventory on reds,” she said, indicating that demand outpaces supply slightly when it comes to red potatoes. For the fresh sector, exports to the U.S. increased over last year – which Stamper acknowledged as one of the many reasons producers are currently concerned over U.S. president Donald Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada, which although not yet materialized, could come into place on Feb. 1.
“We are a net exporter of potatoes… Our governments and associations in Canada are definitely lobbying to make sure people are aware, tariffs are not good for people on either side of the border,” she said.
80
Uncontrolled populations of Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB) can cause yield reductions of anywhere from 40 to 80 per cent.
That’s according to research that has founded AAFC scientist Christine Noronha’s work, much of which has focused on control strategy for the ever-elusive CPB. Throughout generations of development, the CPB has developed resistance against virtually all available foliar insecticides, meaning less conventional control strategies, like physical and biological controls, are a worthy consideration.
For example, a prototype of a pneumatic vacuum machine captured an estimated 50 to 70 per cent of L3 larvae in a field trial. A propane flamer similarly overwintered 70 to 80 per cent. “These plans are good, but the size… could be an issue,” said Noronha. Other options explored by researchers included a plastic-lined trench, or the release of natural “enemies” of CPB, like the pathogen beauveria bassiana or two-spotted stink bug.
But the real message is that variety is the spice of life, says Noronha, whose key messages included a resistance management plan that involved different methods, and that when using insecticides, growers should rotate to avoid building resistance.
15
Some Manitoba seed potato fields had an estimated 15 per cent of plants infected by virus from green peach aphid in 2024, said Manitoba Agriculture’s Vikram Bisht. Bisht, whose talk focused on the ever-important province of Manitoba and its status with regards to pests and diseases.
General aphid trapping numbers have been high since 2021, says Bisht, and plants had high levels of virus in 2023 and 2024. Green peach aphids trapped hit a staggering high in 2023, with a cumulative 228 caught. The number shot down significantly in 2024, to 27, but that total was still more than double the 2022 figure of 12. Similar to 2023, Bisht described a “late surge” in GPA.
Green peach aphids primarily cause viruses including potato leafroll virus (PLV) and potato virus Y (PVY).
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