North Dakota State to receive $457K in grants for potato projects

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture has awarded $457,254 in grants to improve potato production in the state as part of a $2.7 million specialty crop package.

The majority of the funding will go to North Dakota State University projects, including all four involving potato production. They include:

• $102,026 to improve detection capacity and resistance evaluation for control of nematode diseases in potato.
• $223,122 to study vine desiccation as a strategy to manage Verticillium wilt of potato by reducing soil inoculum.
• $71,796 for developing improved practices for fresh yellow potato production in North Dakota.
• $50,310 to study vine kill strategies for certified seed potato production.

In addition to the potato-specific grants, the North Dakota Trade Office was awarded $252,249 to assist in establishing world markets for Upper Midwest specialty crops.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) approved $2,714,601.80 for the 2019 grants. Last year, North Dakota was awarded $2,811,464.82. The grants are distributed based on a formula that takes into account specialty crop acreage and production value.

Information on the NDSU’s Potato Extension can be found here.