Cicada's Million-Dollar Damage: Southern Germany's Potato Harvest at Risk
EU Commission Reveals Current State of Affairs Across the Union
Let's talk about spuds: Ever since last year, southern German farmers have been dealing with soft potatoes more frequently. This mysterious issue isn't only affecting potatoes; sugar beets and vegetables like onions are also in the crosshairs. The spread is causing significant losses, with some operations even questioning whether to continue cultivation.
The enemy within: The culprit? A plant disease called Stolbur. This bugger doesn't just target potatoes; it's also wreaking havoc on sugar beets, onions, celery, red beets, cabbage, carrots, rhubarb, and even peppers. The common glassy-winged sharpshooter cicada is the carrier of this menacing disease. It's estimated that the damage in the southwest alone is in the millions.
The damage: When a crop gets infected, it wilts and its roots and tubers become rubbery. Yield decreases and the overall quality suffers. In severe cases, sugar beets, potatoes, and vegetables can't even be processed or stored. Stolbur and the similarly transmitted infection syndrome SBR have led to incredibly high yield and quality losses. For sugar beets, the affected area more than doubled last year, taking up a quarter of the German cultivation area.
Not just potatoes: Potatoes might just be Germany's lifeline when it comes to self-supplies. While the total cultivation area is vast, around 65,000 hectares are at risk, according to the Union of German Potato Growers (UNIKA). That's almost a quarter of the land used to grow this staple food. The infestation has been a major problem in the warmer south since 2024, with reports of soft potatoes coming in from Karlsruhe to the Hohenloher Ebene and from Heilbronn via Ludwigsburg to Stuttgart.
Expanding Frontiers: This pesky insect isn't just limited to the south; it's making its way north too. It's now active in Lower Saxony, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt, having spread from Baden-Württemberg via Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, and Hesse throughout Germany. The southwest is particularly affected in terms of spread and economic consequences.
Keeping it natural: You don't have to resort to chemicals to keep garden pests at bay. According to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Agriculture, the pest is particularly prevalent where cultivation areas of sugar beets, potatoes, and vegetables overlap. Fun fact: using cucumbers and coffee grounds can help keep pests away without the use of chemicals!
Impact on consumers: So far, there's no indication that Stolbur is harmful to humans. That being said, potatoes and vegetables with a rubbery consistency or signs of spoilage don't even make it to the market. However, if the disease spreads further, consumers may have less access to domestic potatoes this fall.
Cost for farmers: For farmers, the spread of the pest means significant losses, up to total failure. Affected potatoes and vegetables aren't accepted, and farming operations need to dispose of the affected crops. Last year, there were yield losses of up to 25% in all relevant beetroot growing areas, and up to 70% in potato growing, according to the state farmers' association in Baden-Württemberg. This disease is fast becoming a severe economic risk for entire regions.
The threat of Stolbur: While Stolbur has been known in sugar beets for some time, the recent surge in other vegetable infections is a new development. Unfortunately, there's no effective protection against the pest, and the climate is just making things worse. The cicadas feel particularly comfortable in warm early summers and summers and then multiply massively. "The cicadas are favored by climate change," the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry of Agriculture states. With massive occurrences of cicadas from mid-May to the end of August, further crops in regions with beetroot cultivation could be infected.
Moving forward: Farmers are urging politics to act quickly and permit the use of effective means for controlling the cicadas. Research on resistance breeding is also a priority. This reed glass-winged cicada is shaping up to be the greatest agricultural challenge of the coming years. "We urgently need support here," says Stefan Streng, chairman of the Economic Association Sugar.
- In the realm of environmental science, the growth of the cicada population is a concern due to its impact on agriculture, particularly on crops like potatoes and vegetables.
- The emerging trend in health-and-wellness and lifestyle is examining the relationship between climate change, environmental science, and the spread of pests like the cicada, which pose a significant threat to foodstuffs such as food and drink.
- The current battle against Stolbur, a plant disease affecting various crops, has brought forth the importance of science in developing strategies to improve agricultural resilience and combat pests, ensuring a steady supply of foodstuffs for the future.
