SpudChat – Details, episodes & analysis

Spudchat is back for a new season!  In this episode, Ryan talks with Dr. Julie Pasche of North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND about Alternaria, commonly known as early blight and brown spot diseases. They discuss the differences between these pathogens and the diseases they cause, discuss differences in populations and fungicide resistance across the continent, and discuss management strategies. They finish with a chat about black dot, a growing disease of importance in many regions.

This week on SpudChat, Ryan chats with Darin Gibson with Gaia Consulting in Manitoba. Darin and his wife Debbie do contract potato research, variety evaluation, potato breeding, and sugar testing services in Manitoba, and both are well-known in the MB potato industry and beyond. 

In this episode of SpudChat, Ryan talks with Dr. Mario Tenuta from the University of Manitoba about Potato Early Dying complex (PED).  Mario was the lead for Canadian Potato Early Dying Network (CanPEDNet) project as part of the FVGC National Cluster for the last five year, and included research happening here in PEI.  They talk about some of the key findings from the research project, as well as where we go from here in terms of managing the disease.

In this episode of SpudChat, we hear from Greg Donald, General Manager of the PEI Potato Board from a presentation Greg made at the 2023 PEI Potato Conference.  Greg provides an update on the ongoing potato wart investigation, the results of the International Panel report on potato wart in PEI, and how this informs the path forward toward resuming seed shipments from the Island to the rest of Canada and beyond.

This episode features another of our presenters from the 2023 PEI Potato Conference in Summerside on February 13th.  Today, we hear from Anne Verhallen of OMAFRA in Ridgetown, Ontario, talking about practical approaches to soil health.  Anne is a well-renowned expert on cover cropping and soil health improvement, working primarily with horticulture crop producers in South-Western Ontario.  Anne discusses some of the results of trials that indicate how producers can prioritize soil health in a number of ways, but also shares the perspectives of some of the producers she works with.

On this bonus episode of SpudChat, we're pleased to share an episode of the Tuber Talk podcast from Potatoes in Canada that was recorded in late 2022.  In this episode, Ryan Barrett talks about research and extension projects on cover crops and improving soil health in potato rotations with Bree Rhody.

You can find Tuber Talk at https://www.potatoesincanada.com/podcast-category/tuber-talk/ or in your normal podcast platform.

This week on SpudChat, we bring you the audio from another of our presentations at the PEI Potato Conference in Summerside on February 13th, 2023.  In this episode, we hear from Dr. Claudia Goyer of AAFC in Fredericton, NB.  Claudia has been leading a national research project into common scab for the past five years, investigating both the populations of the bacteria that cause common scab as well as potential treatment options for potatoes.

SpudChat is back!  Over the next couple of weeks, we're sharing some of the presentations from the 2023 PEI Potato Conference, held in Summerside on February 13th.  First up is Dr. Mathuresh Singh of Agricultural Certification Services in Fredericton, NB to talk about PVY and why it was such a problem in 2022.  Mathuresh covers a number of reasons why PVY levels might be so elevated from last season, including the appearance of green peach aphids, changes in varieties, changes in grower demographics, and changes in field management.  We're also including some of the questions at the end of the presentation.

To follow along with Mathuresh's presentation slide deck, go to the PEI Potato Agronomy Site, under Seminars/Presentations.

This week, Ryan talks with Dr. Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill, Weed Scientist with AAFC Charlottetown about a range of weed-related topics, including herbicide rotation and efficacy, herbicide timing, and some of the interesting cultural and mechanical weed seed destruction research that Andrew is working on.

On this episode of SpudChat, Ryan Barrett provides and update on the crop following the first Crop Update Meeting of the year, hosted by the PEI Dept of Ag.  Recorded July 7th, 2022.