The project "Safeguarding potato cultivation in Hesse through innovative cicada management (SIKAZIKA)" makes an indispensable contribution to sustainable potato cultivation in Hesse, which is threatened by the new potato disease "bacterial potato tuber wilt" and its vector insects, currently the reed glasswing cicada in particular.

Hesse is particularly affected by this, as cultivation is dependent on regional production of late potatoes for storage and security of supply due to climatic and soil-related characteristics.

Late potatoes are particularly at risk from the cicada that flies out in May-June. The aim of the project is to develop practical measures and easy-to-implement recommendations for action together with the potato farmers and to integrate these into practice so that the desired goals for the sustainable development of land management can be achieved.

The project also serves to increase the climate resilience of cultivation and the food supply. The potato also makes a significant contribution to biodiversity in agriculture and is an important element of crop rotation. The competitiveness of agricultural businesses in Hesse and the regional trade is only possible if the production of late potatoes is maintained. Late cultivation in particular is massively threatened by the cicada and the pathogens it transmits.

As one of the main innovations, the project aims to test the tolerance of varieties that are already available and relevant for cultivation in Hesse. Six farms are participating in the project. The project will generate knowledge on the development and spread of the disease and its symptoms in and with the field in order to identify possible levers for mitigating an infestation and its effects. As the disease was only discovered in 2022, monitoring and analysis of both the cicadas and the pathogens they transmit are another focus of the project.

It is expected that the consequences of the disease may also have a major impact on the storage of potatoes and the production of processed products.

Contact:

Manfred Dressler (res naturae QSV GmbH)
phone: +49 (0) 160 /97 212 808

David Löffler (Agrarservice Hessen-Pfalz GmbH)
phone: +49 (0) 178/ 50 772 84

Project duration: 2023-2026

The Operational Group "SIKAZIKA" is funded by the EU as part of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-Agri) and the State of Hesse as part of the CAP Strategic Plan for the Federal Republic of Germany from 05/2023 to 04/2026. The aim of EIP-Agri is to develop innovations to increase sustainability and efficiency in agriculture.