A State-wide survey for potato cyst nematode (PCN) will begin in July 2005.

PCN has not been found in Western Australia since 1989. After 16 years of freedom from this pest, extensive surveys of potato production regions in Western Australia will be undertaken to substantiate  the PCN-free status of the State.

Dr Shashi Sharma, Manager Plant Health, said the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia was pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Sarah Collins to the PCN Area Freedom Project.

Ms Collins will carry out an extensive sampling program for PCN over the next two years under the supervision of Department Senior Nematologist Dr Vivien Vanstone.

Worldwide, programs for eradication of PCN have rarely been successful. However, there are strong indications that WA is already free of the nematode as it has not been detected since 1989, following the eradication of a small and isolated infestation near Perth in 1986. Subsequent quarantine, testing and monitoring protocols have remained in place.

The PCN survey in Western Australia is funded by Horticulture Australia Ltd, with additional support from the Potato Growers’ Association of WA and the Department of Agriculture.

Substantial benefits result from the application of Area Freedom status that will be recognised by industry and markets.

New markets are opened up, as have been identified in the Middle East and in South East Asia, and costs to growers, the industry and State for testing, surveillance and quarantine programs are significantly reduced.

“We expect that this project will provide the opportunity to further promote the benefits of seed potatoes sourced from Western Australia for important markets such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Mauritius,” said Dr Sharma.

 Sites at Munster on the southern boundary of Perth where PCN was detected in the late 1980s will be intensively surveyed. Soil samples for testing will also be taken from all grower properties within 5 km of those original sites.

In other phases, 50 per cent of remaining properties in the Perth potato-growing area will be sampled, followed by 25 per cent of all other potato-growing areas in Western Australia.  Importantly, this will also include the seed-producing areas of the State. 

New Zealand expert in PCN biology and detection, Dr John Marshall, will  collaborate on the project.

Some 2000 ha of potatoes are grown annually in Western Australia, producing 10,000 tonnes of seed potatoes and 87,000 tonnes for domestic consumption, processing and export.

While PCN has never posed a production constraint to potatoes in WA, past detection of this pest has significantly influenced marketing and export.