Scientists work to prevent zebra chip disease from spreading in Idaho
A devastating disease found in Twin Falls could ruin Idaho’s potato crop.
Local researchers are doing all they can to learn about zebra chip to prevent it from destroying one of the biggest industries in eastern Idaho.
“Distortions and a wilt that will actually destroy the foliage of a plant,” Dr. Phil Nolte described of the disease’s symptoms. “As soon as you kill the foliage, you shut down the factories that feed the potato tubers and make them bigger. So you have some opportunities for a loss of yield.”
The name “zebra chip” comes from the most noticeable symptom of the disease: the stripes that appear on affected potato products. The “chip” part, however, is what scientists want to change, because the bacteria can affect more than just our potato chips.
“Not just potato chips, but for fries, and for fresh-packed potatoes because of the internal quality losses that we’d be suffering,” Nolte said.
Nolte said the disease is a problem that needs to be nipped in the “bug” — the potato psyllid, to be exact, which carries zebra chip, and spreads it when it feeds on potatoes.
Potato psyllids are tiny enough to have a pow-wow on a penny, but the challenges they pose are enormous.
“We don’t know anything, hardly, about the psyllid behavior,” Dr. Nolte said.
The bacteria haven’t been found on Idaho potatoes yet, but it was found in psyllids in Twin Falls. Even so, farmers like Jim Dixon in Idaho Falls don’t want to take their chances.
“This industry doesn’t need another pest,” Dixon said.
Dixon volunteered his own Dixon Farms fields to be a part of Dr. Nolte’s research. The fields are now decorated with sticky bug traps in case infected psyllids do show up.
“The quicker we know about the pest, the faster we can get it cured,” Dixon said.
The Zebra Chip bacteria poses no health risks for humans or animals, but it might make potato products taste a little different.
Potato experts, including Dr. Nolte, will hold a teleconference on Tuesday to discuss a more specific plan of action to tackle the zebra chip problem.
