POTATO RESEARCHERS AWARDED GRANT FUNDS FROM THE WCIPM

The Washington Commission on Integrated Pest Management (WCIPM) recently awarded grant funds to enhance integrated pest management (IPM) projects of specialty crop researchers in Washington. Each project awarded will receive funds from the WCIPM which are contingent on funding being acquired from industry groups to complete the total funding package for a project. Among the research funded for work in 2025 were the following potato-centered projects:

Management of Verticillium Wilt in Potato and Spinach Seed Crops in Western Washington by Lindsey du Toit, Chakradhar Mattupalli, Deirdre Griffin-LaHue, Gabe Lahue, and Ken Frost. The project total is $99,461.00, which includes $37,663.00 from WCIPM, $20,857.00 from the Puget Sound Seed Growers’ Association (PSSGA), and $40,941.00 from the Northwest Potato Research Consortium (NPRC).

Stink Bug: A New Insect Pest of Potatoes by Alan Schreiber. The project total is $25,000.00, which includes $12,000.00 from the WCIPM, In-Kind (donated field sites) support of $3,000.00, and $10,000.00 from the NPRC.

Nematode Management in Columbia Basin Potatoes by Alan Schreiber. The Project Total is $58,460.00, which includes $22,460.00 from the WICPM, and $36,000.00 from the NPRC.

Evaluating Alternatives to Neonicotinoid and the Impact of Virus Transmission in Seed Potatoes by Tim Waters. The project total is $30,639.00, which includes $14,352.00 from the WCIPM, and $16,287.00 from NPRC.

The total funding provided by the WCIPM for potato projects in 2025 is $86,475.00 out of $407,648.00 awarded for integrated pest management research targeting Washington specialty crops.