A potato disease that arrived late this summer in the Pacific Northwest called zebra chip likely can't be spread by planting infected seed, new research suggests.
Joseph Munyaneza, a research entomologist with USDA ARS Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory in Wapato, Wash., said countries including New Zealand and Mexico have voiced concerns that the disease could be spread through seed.
Zebra chip is named for the dark stripes that show up during frying of infected tubers. Symptoms, including curled, pinkish leaves, surface three weeks after infection. It effectively stops tuber development and makes potatoes unmarketable.
