A Dutch company has developed a potato variety that it says is resistant to late blight and could greatly reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture, the Financieele Dagblad newspaper reported Monday.
Dutch potato breeding company Solynta, originally set up to work on tomato varieties, will unveil its new potato later this week, according to Financieele Dagblad.
Phytophthora infestans is a fungus that causes around $11.8 billion worth of damage to potato stocks worldwide every year, despite the intensive use of pesticides intended to combat it.
Wageningen University professor Richard Visser told Financieele Dagblad he expects Solynta will need a further four or five years before growers will be able to grow the new potatoes.
Source: Dutch News