The British potato industry may be facing its greatest threat yet in the form of Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN), which if left unchecked could drastically lower the sector’s potential for future productivity.

There has been and continues to be a large amount of work being done by different organizations and bodies across GB but currently, there is no joined-up approach.

“The PCN Forum will correct that!” a recent GB Potatoes release reveals.

GB Potatoes is collaborating with CUPGRA to create a GB PCN forum to address the issue and create a thorough plan for managing PCN going forward. The Forum’s main goal is to bring together all industry participants with an interest in or understanding of PCN and organize a strategy that transforms that knowledge into a workable industry plan.

To provide the industry with a strategy for addressing the PCN issue in an integrated manner, the Forum will be interested in researching the past and present, potential threats to chemical control in the future, breeding resistant/tolerant varieties, and information on trap cropping and biofumigation, among other topics.

Representatives from every industrial segment convened at CUPGRA on March 21, 2023, for an inaugural workshop during which it was decided that a GB PCN Forum was necessary. August 17th was the day of the PCN Forum’s inaugural meeting.

“PCN is one of the major issues facing the potato sector and without a coordinated approach to the pest, the industry is under a grave threat of walking into a situation from which it will be difficult to reverse. This is why it is so important that the industry comes together to tackle the problem in a joined-up and focused way. As the voice of the GB potato industry, GB Potatoes is ideally placed to facilitate this forum in partnership with CUPGRA. It is vitally important that we produce defined goals, and realistic timelines and create practical solutions that support the industry. It is not a talking shop, and we will expect to be measured on our outputs,” Mark Taylor, Chair of GB Potatoes commented.

David Almond, Deputy Chair of CUPGRA, added that the Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association is delighted to be working with GB Potatoes to create this Forum and ensure that the industry takes a major step forward in developing a plan for “tackling this costly and devastating pest”.

To create a plan that can be implemented in the field, the GB PCN forum will be an inclusive and open group that draws on technical expertise from wherever it is available as well as the practical abilities of growers. The “initiator” of the forum’s start is the steering group. Beyond that, contributions from all interested parties will be invited.

Everyone in the business, including those not directly involved but those on the perimeter like land agents, landowners, consultants, retailers, and the supply chain, must support the forum’s conclusions.

Disseminating outputs and information will be essential and will be key to the success of the Forum, which is another area that GB potatoes and CUPGRA are uniquely placed to deliver on.