P.E.I. has new case of potato wart virus

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island – Inspectors have found a second case of potato wart virus on Prince Edward Island, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday.

It’s the second discovery this week of the potato virus that led to crippling U.S. sanctions against local growers two years ago.

The newly infected field is located about 13 miles east of the case reported Wednesday in Freetown, P.E.I.

The food inspection agency said it is conducting an in-depth investigation of both cases.

The potato wart virus isn’t harmful to humans, but it leaves potatoes with an unsightly growth.

The Freetown field where the first case this year was found has been quarantined. A one-third-mile buffer zone has also been established around it to restrict the movement of potatoes and soil from the area.

When the virus was discovered in an Island field two years ago, officials in the United States closed the border to all potatoes from the province.

It was a move that devastated the Island’s multimillion-dollar potato industry and forced many farmers into bankruptcy.

However, Ivan Noonan, general manager of the Island Potato Board, said he has been assured by U.S. officials that they’re comfortable with the way the current situation is being handled on P.E.I.

Don Love, regional co-ordinator for the inspection agency, has said a three-year working plan agreed to between his agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the 2000 find took into account the potential rediscovery of potato wart.

He said if that plan is followed, P.E.I. potatoes should not be banned at the U.S. border.