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Title: Traditional Potato Production Beyond the Arctic Circle in Alaska, USA

Author
item PANTOJA, ALBERTO

Submitted to: Circumpolar Agricultural Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2010
Publication Date: 9/14/2010
Citation: Pantoja, A. 2010. Traditional Potato Production beyond the Arctic Circle in Alaska, USA. Circumpolar Agricultural Conference Proceedings. p 22.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The role of traditional agricultural production is receiving renewed attention, especially in circumpolar environments facing challenges and opportunities associated to climate change. Issues such as food security, biodiversity, natural resources preservation, and traditional farming are receiving the attention of circumpolar communities interested in preserving fragile natural resources. Because of their remote geography and unique ecological character, native communities in Alaska practice subsistence or outpost agriculture practices. Subsistence agriculture complements wild food harvests and fills in the gaps created by variation in the harvest of wild game, and by the unpredictable food supply chain from the main cities. Potatoes are a common vegetable grown by subsistence farmers. Knowledge of pest and beneficial insects is critical in establishing proper insect pest management techniques on subsistence farms. This work reports on the insect pests associated with potato production in subsistence farming in Wiseman, Alaska (67.4 N, 150.1 W). Insect sampling was conducted between 2006 and 2009. Insects were collected with sweep-nets, bucket traps, water pan traps, and sticky traps. Insects collected that are important to potato production include disease vectors such as aphids and leafhoppers, root feeding pests such as wireworms, and aphid predators such as lady beetles. Two species of aphids, Macrosiphum euphorbiae and Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) known to transmit potato viruses in the lower 48 states, were collected, as were two species of leafhoppers, Balclutha punctata and Macrosteles fascifrons (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) known to transmit phytoplasmas to potatoes. One species of wireworm, Hypnoidus bicolor, (Coleoptera: Elateridae) known to feed on potatoes was collected. Four species of lady beetles, Coccinella trifasciata perplexa, C. transversoguttata richardsoni, Calvia quatuordecimguttata, and Hippodamia parenthesis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were collected.