Miracle potato discovered

Press, 17 June 1983, Page 11

Miracle potato discovered

NZPA staff correspondent London Scientists have discovered a species of potato which produces its own pesticide to repel aphids. It has taken more than 10 years research at the Agricultural Research Council’s experimental station at Rothamsted, in Hertfordshire, to establish why the Solanum berthaultii type of potato is so resistant to aphids. At first the researchers assumed it was because of the tiny hairs on the potato plant’s leaves.

But they have now found the potato fools aphids into producing a chemical exactly the same as that given off by a dying aphid to warn other aphids. The insects then give the hairy potatoes a wide berth. The discovery is a world first which could help farmers save the $80.5 million spent a year fighting aphid-transmitted diseases. One of the project’s researchers, Dr Richard Gibson said, “I believe it is the first time that any crop plant has been found to use

the alarm signals of its pests to protect itself.” Eventually, only potatoes which have these chemicals will be grown, enabling farmers to produce their crops more efficiently and cheaply. The Rothamsted researchers have now started experiments on related plant species such as the tomato, tobacco, and aubergine.

But Dr Gibson rates as remote the chances of the discovery helping the •Tight against greenfly on roses and other garden plants.