Beneficial Bacteria: Preventing Common Scab in Potatoes with Dr. Claudia Goyer

Text: This footage was recorded prior to the Government of Canada’s physical distancing guidelines. Canadians are encouraged to continue to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.
[Upbeat, technological music starts. Claudia Goyer and another scientist carry gardening tools across a field. A green box with text and a location icon appears beneath them.]
Text: Fredericton, New Brunswick
Claudia Goyer: Common scab is a very challenging disease.
[Claudia hoes the soil in a field of potatoes.]
It’s been known for 100 years and we still don’t have a reliable method to control the disease.
[Claudia and another scientist collect and inspect potatoes.]
How can we fix the problem is a very challenging and rewarding facet of research.
[Claudia and another scientist walk down the hall of a research centre.]
And it can be helpful too for the Canadians to get great potatoes on their plates…
[Claudia and two other scientists discuss their findings around a computer.]
… and for the industry to resolve an issue that has been around for a long time.
[Claudia and another scientist walk through a door labelled “Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory”]
I’m Claudia Goyer.
[Claudia is interviewed in her lab. Text appears beneath her with an icon of microbes.]
Text: Dr. Claudia Goyer, Research Scientist - Soil Microbiology, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
I’m a research scientist at the Fredericton Research and Development Centre.
[Claudia and another scientist exit the lab with gardening tools.]
I work on soil microbiology and plant pathology…
[Claudia inspects potatoes in a field. Claudia then waters a pile of potatoes with brown lesions from common scab.]
… and more specifically I work on a disease that is called common scab of potato.
[Tractors and trucks harvest potatoes in a large field.]
Common scab causes like, brownish lesions on the tubers…
[A stream of potatoes pours over a conveyor belt.]
… that are really not appealing for the consumer…
[Two producers inspect potatoes as the produce travels up a ramp.]
… and the industry also is not interested by that because it’s causing them problems to peel the potato when the common scab is severe.
[A truck full of potatoes drives away from a harvester.]
There’s no chemicals registered in Canada…
[A scientists inspects samples using scientific equipment.]
… for growers to use to control common scab specifically.
[Claudia and two other scientists look at findings displayed on a computer screen.]
We’re trying to actually see if there are agricultural practices that we can use…
[Out in the field, Claudia hoes the soil.]
… that can reduce common scab, and I’m particularly interested in understanding how microbes can help in this.
[A scientist weighs samples of soil, then places them in a micro test tube.]
Now we finally have the ability to really capture all the diversity of microbes in soils.
[Claudia and two other scientists discuss their findings around a computer.]
And understanding the diversity, who’s there and what they’re doing…
[A scientist places a tray of samples in a tissue homogenizer.]
… so that has opened a lot of new research avenues for us to understand how communities from soil can help us…
[A timelapse plays of a potato plant rapidly growing.]
… reduce disease but also increase crop productivity.
[A scientist shows a potato to the camera as Claudia collects them.]
You know, nobody wants to buy a bag where there’s potatoes with a lot of brownish lesions…
[Hands check potatoes as they roll up a down a ramp. Trucks and tractors harvest potatoes in a field.]
… so I think that’s the really important thing…
[Two women shop for potatoes in grocery stores.]
… is that we’re bringing high quality potatoes to the Canadians…
[A farmer proudly holds a bucket of potatoes.]
… and we’re also helping the industry in reducing the amount of economic losses due to common scab.
[A white screen with a green bar fills the screen, with text.]
Text: Learn more at agr.gc.ca/fields-of-science. We cover a lot of ground.
[The Canada wordmark plays. The upbeat, technological music ends.]

[@jasonslade1253]

What is your findings? Video only tells us of the problem and that you are studying for an answer. I guess we will stay tuned for harvest time.

[@kirkerickson1591]

typical government explanation, useless

[@caroldeon8736]

Useless as usual