Advancing Potato Health: Updates from the National Integrated Disease Management Program
The Australian potato industry faces ongoing disease challenges that reduce yield, quality, and profitability. An Integrated Disease Management Program for the Australian Potato Industry (PT23002) was developed to provide practical, research-based solutions to support effective disease control and protect the industry’s future.
The program includes two independent projects.
One project, led by the University of Tasmania with Simplot and SARDI will focus on:
Strengthening disease diagnostics for better decision-making: Improve affordable, reliable, and user-friendly diagnostic tools to better detect soil-borne potato pathogens and understand where infections originate (soil, seed, water, and other sources).
Developing integrated disease management strategies: Combine pre-plant, in-crop, and system-level management tools—such as soil treatments, crop rotation, biological controls, and targeted chemical use—to sustainably reduce disease pressure and improve yields.
Delivering practical benefits and future capability for industry: Provide growers with actionable management guidelines, reduce the impact of key potato diseases, and build long-term research capacity through training, collaboration, and industry engagement.
Latest UTAS trial insights
Several trials are currently underway, and below are some of the latest updates we received from the UTAS research team in February 2026. Check out these reports to get an overview of some of the current trials being conducted in collaboration with Simplot and SARDI.
Pink rot management – An activities update, evaluating integrated approaches to reduce pink rot and improve tuber quality. This project is a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Potato - Fresh and Potato - Processing Funds.
PotatoLink IPM Workshop attendees hearing from Dr. Audrey Leo and Robert Tegg on an update of activities and research findings from the Integrated Disease Management project. Sisters Creek, Tasmania | Early February 2026
Impact of potato volunteers – An activities update, investigating how volunteer potatoes contribute to disease carryover and strategies to control them. This project is a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Potato - Fresh and Potato - Processing Funds.
Powdery scab management – An activities update, testing IDM practices including soil amendments, rotations, and resistant varieties to manage powdery scab. This project is a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Potato - Fresh and Potato - Processing Funds.
An integrated disease management program for the Australian Potato Industry (PT23002) is funded through Hort Innovation using fresh and processing potato levies and contributions from the Australian Government.
