Potato growers have been urged to exercise particular caution in ensuring they are sourcing safe seed after three cases of ring rot were discovered in the Netherlands.

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Since September, the Dutch Foods and Products Authority have found Ring Rot in ware potatoes at three premises in one region as a result of a sample study of potato diseases. The suspicion is that illegally traded farm-saved seed was involved in these cases.   Additional checks are being undertaken in the Netherlands because Ring Rot was found on several farms in that region during 2009 and 2010.

The UK is currently free of the devastating bacterial disease, having eliminated it following an isolated outbreak in Wales in 2003. Ring rot can destroy around 50 per cent of potato crops.

NFU Scotland policy manager Peter Loggie advised UK growers to consider buying seed only from growers in the Potato Council’s Safe Haven Certification Scheme.

He said, "Although checks on other Dutch farms have so far proven negative, and all the potentially contaminated potatoes have been removed from the market, this incident again emphasises the importance of sourcing seed potatoes responsibly."

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