Johnson speaks with WAGM about new potato bacteria
Steve Johnson, a crops specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Presque Isle, spoke with WAGM (Channel 8 in Presque Isle) about Dickeya, a bacterial pathogen that’s threatening Maine seed potatoes and causing crop loss. Johnson said the bacteria is an increasing problem that needs to be dealt with immediately, according to the report. “How can we manage it? If we know how it moves, where it comes from, how it spreads in handling, we can develop management practices to deal with it, and doing the research is the first step with this,” Johnson said, citing recent funding awarded to UMaine and other research institutions for advancing the technology in detecting, diagnosing and controlling Dickeya through survey, genetic and molecular investigation. “It simply just takes a lot of boots on the ground to do this — in the dirt, in the soil, in the field, in the lab,” he said.