General Director of the Plant Sciences Group Ernst van den Ende recently signed an agreement with the American Cornell University and the International Potato Centre (CIP) in Peru to control Phytophthora. The potato disease causes major crop losses and poor quality harvests around the world. It is very hard to control and attempts to make potatoes resistant against the disease have proved difficult. The DURPH project (durable resistance against Phytophthora through cisgenic marker-free modification), subsidised by the Dutch government and started by PRI in 2005, has attracted a great deal of interest from around the world.

Using new technologies, PRI implanted genes from the wild potato into cultivated potato to achieve sustainable resistance within a short time period. This method also allows the simultaneous implementation of multiple resistances, making it even harder for the fungus to break through. Anton Haverkort, DURPH project leader, responded a while back to a presentation by Cornell University at a conference in India: “I noticed that Wageningen has different methods, so maybe we should get together and exchange thoughts.” The meeting eventually resulted in the research project in which the CIP is involved as an international organisation in developing countries. 

“This initiative is completely in line with the Dutch agriculture ministry’s goal to use the results of our research and our technologies for stacking genes to benefit developing countries,” stresses Anton. One of the focal points of the agreement is making the results available for countries whose food supply depends mainly on their potato cultivation, especially those in East Africa and East Asia. The three project partners will be actively looking for ways to ensure these countries benefit from the cooperation based on their specific requirements.

In addition to the development of resistant varieties, the new joint international project aims to design a cultivation system that includes so-called resistance management.  This should minimise the risk of the potato disease breaking through the resistance.