Date: Wednesday 21 August 2024

Time: 2:00 - 6:00 pm

Location: Bungaree Public Recreation Reserve, Bungaree-Wallace Rd, Bungaree VIC 3352

Registration: Click here to register
[Please register as numbers are required for catering]

We are touring Australia’s potato growing regions with American potato pathologists Dr Amy Charkowski (Colorado State University) and Dr Phillip Wharton (University of Idaho). This Ballarat event will also be joined by local, Phil Hoult.

Join us for an interactive and practical workshop designed to equip potato growers with essential knowledge and practical skills to enhance crop health and productivity.

Topics:

1. Potato diseases
   Presented by Dr Amy Charkowksi (USA) and Dr Phillip Wharton (USA)

   Delve into common potato diseases such as managing blackleg, soft rot, powdery scab, early and late blight. Learn about effective pathogen identification, environmental influences, and sustainable control options without over-reliance on chemical solutions.

2. Seed handling and storage
   Presented by Dr Phillip Wharton (USA)

   Explore best practices in seed handling and storage to minimise postharvest diseases.

3. Nutrition in potatoes
   Presented by Phill Hoult

   Dive into soil nutrition essentials including soil testing, nutrient management, and the role of macronutrients and micronutrients in optimising plant health and resilience to pests and diseases.

4. PotatoLink demonstration findings
   Presented by Stuart Grigg
   Don’t miss out on insights from the PotatoLink demonstration sites showcasing mycorrhizal fungi benefits and nutrient efficiency.

5. Panel session
   Chaired by Stuart Grigg

   Join experts for a discussion on current challenges and future trends. This will be an open, engaging and informative session, as we tease out some of the finer details and challenges of potato production in an effort to link science and real life potato cropping (presenters and local growers join to discuss our regions challenges and provide local answers).

   Come prepared with your production questions.

This workshop is aimed to be practical and to provide you with valuable takeaways to assist your potato farming practices.

Following the event there will be drinks and catering, and an opportunity to continue talking with fellow growers and presenters. The AuSPICA AGM will be occuring at the same venue starting at 6:30 pm.

For more information, please contact: Stuart Grigg | 0400 860 763 | stuart.grigg@potatolink.com.au

Meet the host:

• Stuart Grigg, Vic Regional Representative, PotatoLink

  Stuart Grigg, of Stuart Grigg Ag-Hort Consulting, is deeply rooted in vegetable farming, with nearly 20 years of experience across Australia (primarily Victoria) and New Zealand. Originally focused on lettuce, brassicas, and babyleaf, he has expanded into carrots, parsnips, and potatoes.

  Passionate about precision agriculture, sustainability, and soil health, Stuart blends theoretical expertise from research projects with practical insights from managing major vegetable production businesses. His latest venture includes a 148-acre property in Bolwarrah, west of Ballarat, where he collaborates with potato grower Neville Quinlan. They cultivate potatoes on new soil alongside broccoli in partnership with Fresh Select. Stuart leads trials with local Atlantic crops and oversees Victorian PotatoLink initiatives.

Meet the speakers:

• Dr Amy Charkowski (USA)

  Professor of Plant Pathology and the Research Associate Dean, Colorado State University

  From 2001-2016, she served as a faculty member in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and as the administrative director of the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program. She earned her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

  Charkowski’s research is mainly on plant pathogens that affect seed potato production or trade, including potato viruses, Spongospora subterranea, and soft rot bacterial pathogens of potato. She teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in IPM and plant pathology. She served as department head of Agricultural Biology from 2016-2023 and during this time the department doubled its research expenditures, and developed an undergraduate major in Agricultural Biology, a minor in Agricultural Data Science, and an online Masters in Pest Management.

  Read about her research here.

• Dr Phillip Wharton (USA)

  Dr. Phillip Wharton is currently Associate Professor of potato pathology at the University of Idaho (USA). The University of Idaho is a key hub in US potato research with Idaho producing in 2016, 6.3 million tonnes ($USD 968 million), making up approximately 30% of US’s potato crop.

  In addition to Dr. Wharton’s extensive research experience at Purdue University (USA) and Michigan State University (USA), since 2004 Dr. Wharton has focused his efforts on diseases of potatoes including Rhizoctonia, Fusarium dry rot, late blight and other diseases of potatoes. He has also worked on international potato projects including helping Idaho potato growers increase their exports to Asia (Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia etc.) and developing late blight resistant potatoes in Indonesia and Bangladesh.

  Dr. Wharton’s areas of specialisation include plant pathology, disease forecasting, fungicide resistance, plant disease resistance and the biology of host-pathogens interactions of fungal diseases on potatoes.

• Phil Hoult

  Bio coming soon