The bacterial wilt disease detected in potato crops in the south of the country has set off the alarm among producers, as this disease rapidly spreads through water.
It is a parasitic disease that affects the tuber and that is currently limited to the region of La Araucania and the towns in Los Rios, such as San Jose de la Mariquina and Lanco. Since the virus spreads easily, producers fear it will reach the region of Los Lagos. The situation is being discussed at a seminar in the Institute of Agricultural Research, Inia Remehue, stated Luis Miquel, general manager of the Chile's Potato Consortium.
He said that people were concerned about this disease because it was different from other well-known diseases, such as the golden nematode. Unlike other diseases, the propagation of the bacterial wilt involves water streams so researchers should focus and increase their studies on this, he said.
This was part of the contents analyzed at the seminar "Potato plant health problems: how to face the risk with knowledge", which featured exhibitors from Chile and from the United States; and which was held weeks before the start of the harvest.
