A batch of potatoes was returned from Azerbaijan to Georgia due to the discovery in the samples of a quarantine object - potato stem nematode.
The press service of the Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan reports that the inspectors of the department rejected a batch of potatoes from Georgia. As part of the measures to control the quality of imported products, the agency's specialists carried out an examination of samples from several batches of potatoes with a total weight of 89,6 tons imported into the republic. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of a quarantine object in the batch of imported products - a stem nematode.
For this reason, the import of this potato was prohibited, and it was decided to return the entire consignment to Georgia.
Stem nematode is a worm up to 1 mm in size. It infects stems and plants, and its tubers. The nematoda multiplies intensively in a humid environment. It is easy to recognize the tuber in which the parasites have settled: small dark spots are clearly visible on the peel. Directly under the skin - areas of light, but friable pulp. In case of severe damage, the skin of the tuber cracks, and dry rot forms under it. Affected tubers shrivel and rot, and then are completely destroyed by fungi and bacteria. This leads to significant crop losses.
Carrots, tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, pepper, eggplant, onion, watermelon, clover, alfalfa, many weeds and some ornamental crops also belong to the host plants of the nematode.