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Re: No tomatoes 1998

At 07:47 AM 4/3/97 -0500, you wrote:
>At 10:49 PM 4/2/97 -0800, Robert Beer wrote:
>>> I, for one, thought it was real at first.  Perhaps because of the lengths
>>> our state government went to when eliminating Mediterranean fruit fly
>>> infestations. Like, for example, mass helicopter sprayings of med-fly bait
>>> over entire towns in the middle of the night. And going door-to-door
>to...<snip>
>
>And I vaguely remember something from a few years back (forgive me for
>starting unsubstantiated rumors on the Net) about complaints from
>commercial growers of a disease resistant potato (I think) that the
>continued growing of potatoes by home growers would maintain the disease in
>the population and threaten their production. They suggested (Really!) a
>ban on home cultivation of nonprotected varieties.
>
>Good AF joke, Bob..
>
>Gerry
> 
>
>
Actually this is sort of true.  Commercial potato growers should plant
certified virus free seed (not necessarily a resistant variety).  When they
do this, the occurrence of potato leaf roll virus amongst the crop is
highly reduced.  However most home gardeners just save a couple of tubers
from last year and plant them again.  This can cause the amount of potato
leaf roll virus to accumulate in certain areas.

Then aphids come in and feed on the home garden virus infected potatoes and
eventually will end up transmitting it to the commercial fields that are
close by.

So in this case it is true that commercial growers wanted a ban on home
gardening, at least with non-certified seed.  I don't believe it ever
became mandatory though.  At least not up here.  It would just be too hard
to possibly enforce.


Brad Estergaard
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada
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