Potato ring rot discovered in the UK

The world's most damaging potato disease has been discovered in Britain for the first time. Ring rot has been described as the potato equivalent of foot-and-mouth, and government experts are meeting to discuss how to contain it. Potato growers have also pledged to contain and eradicate the outbreak, which was discovered at a farm in mid Wales The infected potatoes were detected during an annual survey for ring rot. It is thought the disease, which could seriously affect yields, was brought into the UK on infected Dutch seed. Dutch authorities are being contacted to identify other UK locations to which seed of the same variety and origin may have gone. Annual losses to US potato farmers caused by ring rot have been as high as 50%.