§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research is carried out by his Department into the control of potato scab; and if any progress is being made in developing a cure.
§ Mrs. FennerMy Department's recent work on powdery scab, a disease that has caused problems this year and last, has taken the form of studies of the relationships between infection at planting and at harevest time; local surveys of the incidence of the disease; assessment of possible chemical treatments; and, in co-operation with the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, trials to assess the susceptibility of differenct varieties of potatoes. I understand that research into this disease is also being undertaken by the Agricultural Research Council at the 413W Rothamsted experimental station and that the North of Scotland college of agriculture is carrying out a research project funded by the Potato Marketing Board.
Both powdery scab and common scab can be controlled by soil and crop management and sanitation, in particular by the choice of less susceptible varieties, by crop rotation and by avoiding the introduction of the pathogens to soils conducive to the disease.