Further ring rot testing is underway on four farms in the UK following the outbreak at the end of July.
Initial tests on the 2003 stocks at the farm in Herefordshire, from which the infected potatoes were supplied, have now been completed, Defra confirmed. Of 12 stocks checked, only two tested positive and both were of the Sante variety, associated with seed potatoes from the Netherlands.
The second phase of sampling and testing on the 2004 harvest is now underway to establish whether infection is limited to the stocks already identified or whether it has spread to other stocks.
The programme will focus on the farm in Herefordshire, as well as three other farms in Licolnshire, Norfolk and Newcastle which all received stocks of Sante from the same source in the Netherlands.
The testing is not expected to be finished until late Autumn.
