Renowned molecular biologist to lead trio of sessions at potato conference

Renowned molecular biologist Paul Bethke will lead three breakout sessions during the Michigan Winter Potato Conference, set for Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in East Lansing.

Bethke works with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and is a professor at the University of Wisconsin.

He will lead the following sessions at the conference:

• Implications of Potato Seed Physiological Age
• Potato Skin: The Best Defense Against Storage Loss
• Field Management Solutions to Improve Storage Quality

Conference registration is available online.

The Bethke Lab at the University of Wisconsin focuses on the physiology of potato tubers as influenced by genotype and environment.

Experiments are conducted at the molecular, cellular, whole tuber and production-scale levels, with long-term goals of gaining a more detailed understanding of potato physiology and to identify specific molecular and cellular events that predict or influence the marketability of stored potatoes.