Mar 14, 2025CFIA implements new measures to control potato wart
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has implemented new measures to help contain, control and prevent the spread of potato wart in a new National Potato Wart Response Plan announced March 14.
The plan has been finalized and will take effect with the 2025 potato crop, according to a CFIA news release.
The response plan outlines measures and activities that must be followed when a potato wart detection is confirmed and applies to new detections of potato wart anywhere in Canada, other than Newfoundland and Labrador. It replaces the Potato Wart Domestic Long-term Management Plan (2009).
In developing the plan, the CFIA met regularly with stakeholders, including the Canadian Potato Council, the Prince Edward Island Potato Board, and the Province of Prince Edward Island (PEI), according to the release.
New measures include:
- Preventive control plans: Users of restricted fields must develop and implement preventive control plans to identify and manage risks associated with potato wart.
- Seed potato certification: Certification will no longer be available for seed potatoes grown in restricted fields, as seed potatoes are a significant risk for spreading the disease.
- Soil sampling and analysis: Additional soil sampling and analysis is required before removing potato wart phytosanitary measures from restricted fields.
“The new National Potato Wart Response Plan is a strong step forward. It’s all about pulling together the latest science with input from growers and the potato industry to make sure we help prevent the spread of this terrible pest and protect the sector, so Canada can continue to be a reliable supplier of top-quality potatoes,” Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food of Canada, said in the release.
The CFIA said it has met with PEI potato growers to review the new response plan and discuss the transition for users of fields that currently have potato wart related restrictions. The agency said fields in PEI already under restriction will be assigned an equivalent status under the new response plan.
CFIA announced March 4 that its 2024 National Potato Wart Survey did not detect potato wart in 2,200 soil samples from seed potato fields in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia that had no known association with previous disease detection.
“The fact that they didn’t find in this very, very small sample of tests is a good thing, (but) it is a very small sample of tests. To some degree, given that limited amount, it would be surprising if potato wart was indeed found,” National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles told Spudman in response.
NPC has called for a “substantial amount of substantial amount of ongoing testing in the production areas that have had wart in the past and in the areas surrounding it,” including “rigorous surveillance on Prince Edward Island.”
Potato wart was detected in PEI in 2021 and the U.S. border completely closed to potatoes from the province. Fresh potatoes were allowed back into the U.S. in April 2022, though PEI seed potatoes are still banned.
CFIA completed an investigation into PEI potato wart in August 2023. An analysis of nearly 50,000 soil samples from fields associated with the 2021 detections found potato wart in four additional fields — a result “expected in investigations of this scale,” according to the agency.
Last February, CFIA announced plans to review and replace its current long-term risk management plan for potato wart as part of negotiations with APHIS.
“The CFIA prioritized the review of our approach to potato wart and worked closely with stakeholders to develop the new response plan to help contain, control and prevent its spread,” Paul MacKinnon, CFIA president, said. “We will continue to monitor the latest science and work with industry to pivot and adjust our response as needed.”
