Germany’s potato sector is calling for a rapid expansion of applied research and coordinated control strategies to protect domestic production, as industry bodies warn that the spread of the reed glass-winged leafhopper is becoming a growing threat to crop resilience and rural value creation.

The appeal was made by the Union of the German Potato Industry and the German Potato Trade Association following a high-level round table on the reed glass-winged leafhopper, held in Berlin on 16 December at the invitation of Federal Minister for Agriculture, Food and Homeland Alois Rainer. The insect is known to transmit bacterial diseases in potatoes, and its gradual expansion across arable regions is raising concern among growers, traders and processors alike.

Union der Deutschen Kartoffelwirtschaft (UNIKA) and Deutscher Kartoffelhandelsverband (DKHV) stressed that innovative, practice-oriented solutions are urgently needed across the entire value chain, from cultivation and retail presentation through to processed potato products, in order to ensure the continued availability of regionally produced potatoes.

“The progressive spread of the reed glass-winged leafhopper and the bacterial diseases it transmits to potatoes requires a broadly based control strategy,” said Dr Justus Böhm, chairman of UNIKA’s advisory board. He underlined that effective responses would need to combine multiple approaches across arable farming, including integrated plant protection, innovation in pest control and advances in breeding. These elements, he said, form the pillars of a sustainable defence strategy.

Martin Roffhack, a member of the DKHV executive board, emphasised the economic dimension of the challenge. “We can maintain value creation in rural regions if we learn from the situation and respond quickly and in a targeted manner with coordinated packages of measures,” he said. According to Roffhack, safeguarding potato production is not only about crop protection, but also about preserving jobs and economic stability in predominantly rural areas.

Both organisations pointed out that significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the interaction between the pest and its host plants. At the Berlin round table, Böhm and Roffhack jointly called for increased funding for applied research projects, as well as the creation of additional personnel capacities at both federal and state level to support field-oriented investigations and implementation.

“We must not jeopardise Germany as a production location,” Roffhack warned. “It not only secures the supply of this high-quality product, the potato, but also supports employment, primarily in rural regions, and thereby contributes to strengthening regional economic power.”

Böhm also welcomed the political attention being given to the issue by Alois Rainer. “Given the high level of intensity with which the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Food and Homeland is addressing this issue and working towards solutions, we are optimistic that effective measures and mechanisms can be developed,” he said. Böhm added that the industry associations wished to explicitly thank Minister Rainer for his engagement.

UNIKA acts as the umbrella organisation for Germany’s potato sector, bringing together all stages of the value chain, from breeding and seed potato production through primary production and packing to upstream and downstream activities. DKHV represents around 170 potato trading companies, packers and peeling operations, as well as breeders, growers, packaging material manufacturers and potato technology suppliers.