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Season 3 | Episode 1 | February 2, 2023

Nematode Research: Helping Potato Farmers and Consumers

14:00

Cervantes:

Hello everyone! Welcome to Potato-cast. A podcast full of all your favorite potato industry content. I’m Natalia Cervantes, Potatoes USA Conversation Architect, and your host.

Today’s episode is going to keep you very engaged. We are going to talk about better nematode management tools to help the potato industry increase yield.

With me here is Inga Zasada. I had the pleasure of stopping by Inga’s booth at the Denver, Colorado potato expo and really enjoyed learning from her about this project.

But why listen to me when you could be hearing about this directly from the expert. Inga, welcome to potato-cast!

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Cervantes:
Before we get started, do you mind sharing with our listeners a little bit about your background?

Zasada:
I’m a nematologist with USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Corvallis, Oregon. I have an MS degree in Crop Science from North Carolina State University and a PhD degree in Plant Pathology from UC Davis. I have spent my entire career, the past 20 years, as a nematologist with USDA. I started my career in Beltsville, Maryland focusing on nematode management with soil amendments and cover crops. When I had the opportunity to move back out west to Oregon I jumped on the opportunity. Since 2008, I have been working on plant-parasitic nematode management in specialty crops, including potato. My lab group has done a lot of work on understanding more about the biology and genetics of nematodes in the hope of finding new ways to control this important group of agricultural pests.

Cervantes:
Seems like you’ve always known what field you wanted to be in. What makes you so passionate about this line of work?

Zasada:
I am very passionate about the science of nematology and really enjoy working with students. The discipline of nematology is not big, so having the opportunity to work with students, get them excited about nematodes, and hopefully train the next generation is super exciting for me. Not to mention it keeps me up-to-date in the discipline and there is always something to learn from students.

Cervantes:
And how long have you been working with the production research team at Potatoes USA?

Zasada:
I am relatively new to working with the Potatoes USA production research team. Our group started working on a Specialty Crops Research Initiative in 2020, and this is when I had the opportunity to get to know everyone. We weren’t successful with our proposal on our first try, so we decided to give it another try and continued to work closely with John Lundeen and Alyssa Green during the process. We couldn’t have gotten our proposal on potatoes and nematodes, which was funded in 2022, without their help.  Both were with us during every step, from getting letters of support for industry, helping us polish the proposal, and celebrating when we got funding.

Cervantes:
Congratulations on receiving the funding! I hear the production research team say PAPAS a lot, what exactly is it?

Zasada:
Our Specialty Crop Research Initiative funded project is ‘Systems approach to controlling nematodes in U.S. potato production’. But we wanted something that folks could relate to, so our project is “Potatoes & Pests PAPAS – Actionable Science Against Nematodes”. As your listeners probably know, potatoes originated in South America. Papas is potato in Quechua, one of the groups of aboriginal people of South America. One of the nematodes that our project focuses on, potato cyst nematodes are also native to South America – so we thought this was a great connection. PAPAS will strive to deliver easy-to-find, credible and accurate information and resources to potato growers to increase the understanding and adoption of agronomic and management practices that help prevent and control potato nematode infestations.

Cervantes:
What is the problem that your latest nematode project is trying to solution?

Zasada:
One of the most intractable pest management issues for potato growers is plant-parasitic nematodes. These microscopic worms feed on the roots of potato as well as tubers and can either reduce yield or make the tuber unsaleable. Growers are really limited in the strategies they can use to control nematodes – our goal is to help potato growers manage nematodes by discovering new solutions. Our project will focus on two groups of nematodes: the root-knot and potato cyst nematodes. Root-knot nematodes are widely distributed in potato production areas in the PNW – feeding by this nematode cause root malformation and the Columbia root-knot nematode can also feed on potatoes causing bumps and blemishes that are not desirable for the fry market. The potato cyst nematodes are regulated quarantine organisms and are only found in New York and Idaho; the amount of US acreage that is infested with this nematode is very small. The danger of this group of nematodes, and why they are regulated, is that once introduce they can survive for a very long time, up to 30 years, in soil. Both root-knot and potato cyst nematodes not only impact potato production but they can also have severe consequences on the ability of growers to ship their potatoes to other states and countries because of their quarantine status.

Cervantes:
Can you talk a little bit about your role in this and who else is working with you?

Zasada:
PAPAS is administered by the University of Idaho under the leadership of our Project Director Louise-Marie Dandurand. Our team is comprised of 17 scientists from 6 different universities and USDA-ARS. I am a co-Project Director and one of five nematologist involved on the project. My biggest role in additional to providing nematology support to the breeders involved in PAPAS is to lead an effort to improve nematode diagnostics and to implement predictive models that can be used by growers to make more informed decisions. The idea behind these efforts is that growers need more information to be able to make informed decision regarding nematode management. For improved diagnostics, we want to help diagnostic laboratories implement molecular techniques to identify nematodes. We feel this is important because by adopting this technology we can identify nematodes beyond the species level, to pathotype, which will be important when deploying resistance. Predictive models are also a powerful way to understand the role that environment, variety, rotation, nematode levels, and other factors impact the potential of a nematode to damage potato. We are excited about new team members on this project, a group of heavy computational scientists at Washington State University. We think we have some great horsepower on this project.

Cervantes:
With the amount of experience your team has, I would agree.
How long have you been researching this problem?

Zasada:
I have been involved in potato nematode research since 2010. Just prior to this a new cyst nematode species was discovered in Oregon. The concern was that this nematode is closely related to the quarantine potato cyst nematodes I mentioned earlier. There was no information about the biology and damage potential of this nematode – so decisions could not be made. My job was to generate the data to understand more about this nematode and its threat to potato. Since this time, I have expanded to work with other nematodes of importance to potato production.

Cervantes:
Who is your target audience? Who will benefit from this?

Zasada:

I think everyone can benefit from research on nematodes. I personally have worked closely with potato growers and industry representatives as well as Federal and State government regulators on potato cyst nematodes with the common goal of protecting the U.S. potato industry from invasive nematodes. But consumers benefit as well – by solving nematode problems in potatoes yield and quality can be maintained to provide people who love to eat potatoes with a great product.

Cervantes:
What is most important? What do you keep the focus on?

Zasada:
We really need new ways to control nematodes, all nematodes. And this isn’t just for potato, this is for all agricultural commodities worldwide. I am a big believer in plant resistance being the cornerstone to any successful integrated strategy to manage nematodes. I believe it is important that we create, foster, and support nematologist/breeding teams that fast-track the development of varieties with resistance to nematodes. In the case of potato, this is developing market acceptable varieties with resistance to root-knot and potato cyst nematodes – both a focus of PAPAS.

Cervantes:
Can you define what immediate success would look like for your team?

Zasada:
I think we have already succeeded. We have assembled a large group of scientists to work on this project including nematologists, plant breeders, economists, chemists, and computer scientists. We have an actively engaged advisory committee for our project including growers, processors, industry representative, nematode diagnosticians from around the country. We are all meeting at the Potato Expo so we can collectively get PAPAS off to a great start.

Cervantes:
But that’s just the beginning, right? You also have long-term goals for this?

Zasada:
Our long-term goals are ambitious – but we have to start somewhere. I think simply put our goal is to provide potato growers with more information and tools to manage plant-parasitic nematodes. We want to create a systems approach to manage plant-parasitic nematodes in potato. We want to provide information and solutions to potato growers at every point in their decision process. From sampling a field to determine if nematodes are present, to variety selection, to post-plant nematicide decisions. At every point there is data and information that we can gather and synthesize to provide potato growers with the tools to better manage nematodes.

Cervantes:
What about support? How can the industry support this project?

Zasada:
For the objective that I am leading, decision support, we need data. What we are looking for are growers, crop consultants, and companies to share data with us. I have no doubt that there is years if not decades worth of data sitting out there on computers that we can compile and leverage towards machine learning to develop predictive models. I think it is also important that industry understands that we value their ideas and experiences – after all, they are the ones growing the potatoes. So letting us know what they think about the project and how we are doing is important for us to know.

Cervantes:
Couldn’t agree more, Inga. I will include contact information in this episode’s description so our listeners can reach out and provide feedback.
Have you always been interested in nematodes?

Zasada:
I have always been interested in agriculture. I am a product of 4-H and FFA, both organizations that taught be a lot about agriculture and life skills. I didn’t become interested in nematodes until after I finished my MS degree. I was assigned a nematode project when I became a Peace Corp volunteer on the Maltese Islands. Before that I had no idea what a nematode was. But I quickly learned all about them and have been hooked ever since.

Cervantes:
You were a Peace Corp volunteer? Your experience just keeps on going!
I’ve asked you a lot about your work, how about hobbies though? What do you like to do in your free time?

Zasada:
My favorite thing to do this time of year is wander around in the woods outside Corvallis at night with my headlamp and dogs. It is so peaceful, and the forest looks really different in the dark.

Cervantes:
One last thing, if I’m at a party and I want to impress my friends with my new nematode knowledge, what would be something I could say?

Zasada:
You can tell your friends that the largest nematode that we know of is 28 ft long! It is a parasite of the placental of the sperm whale. This is usually a good way to freak out students and friends.

Cervantes:
Good to know!
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Zasada:
Me too. This is also my first time to Potato Expo and I have really had a great time. Thanks to everyone.

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Cervantes:
I hope everyone enjoyed listening and learning from Inga Zasada as much as I did.

Potato-cast is growing. If you are an active member of the potato industry, we’d love to interview you about your operation. To submit yourself or your friend, please email natalia@potatoesusa.com. It would be a pleasure to hear from our dedicated listeners.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Potato-cast! You can subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Google Podcast by searching for Potato-cast. Feel free to share potato-cast with your friends and family in the industry.

All supporting documents for data provided in this episode can be found on potatoesusa.com. To see all the great information available about potatoes or new and fun ways to cook with potatoes, visit potatogoodness.com.

I am your host, Natalia Cervantes.

Until next time, have a potato-ful day, everyone.

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