May 30, 2011Another southeast Idaho field infected with potato cyst nematodes
The Idaho Falls Post-Register reported that another field has been infected with potato cyst nematodes. This makes the 10th infected field in southeast Idaho since the initial discovery in April, 2006.
The big question is, how did it get here in the first place? That’s the $64,000 question,” said Larry Hawkins of USDA. “I would love to know how it got here.”
The nematodes were initially discovered in Bingham County in April 2006. Quarantine and fumigation efforts on the 1,100 infected acres have been carried out ever since.
Hawkins said the nematodes likely made it to the new field while attached to dirt from an infected field. He said it’s unclear how that happened. Officials have not been able to determine when or how the nematodes arrived in the state.
“”It’s an extremely difficult pest to get rid of,”” Hawkins said. “”The thing can last in the soil for decades, and so the process that you go through to get rid of it is extremely long.””
Officials have not named the farmers whose fields have been quarantined.
Mike Cooper, the Idaho Department of Agriculture’s division of plant industries bureau chief, said the farmers have been allowed to grow cover crops but not produce anything from the fields.
The nematodes feed at the roots of potato plants and can reduce crop production by 80 percent. Officials say the pest is not harmful to humans and doesn’t have any effect on the potatoes themselves.
Since the nematodes appeared, area agriculture workers have been taking special precautions to avoid spreading them.
“”From a farming standpoint, proper care of equipment, cleanliness of equipment and that sort of thing, as it goes from area to area, is important,”” said Stephen Abend, director of procurement for Nonpareil Corp. in Blackfoot. “”More often than not, your problems come from farmers that are spread out across the valley.””
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