When scientists in Kenya needed help developing a certification program for seed potatoes, a CALS plant pathologist stepped up to the task.

The new program is run by Kenya’s Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC), a government-controlled agency charged with improving agricultural programs throughout the nation.

“They were looking for somebody to help improve their certification program. Since it’s my job at the UW to do this kind of thing, I applied,” says Brooke Weber, a scientist with the CALS-based Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Tissue Culture Laboratory, which helps produce certified disease-free seed potatoes for Wisconsin growers.

A nonprofit agency called CNFA, which supports economic growth in the developing world by empowering the private sector, selected Weber for the position, paying for her flight to Nairobi as well as her three-week visit to the ADC Molo Seed Potato Complex in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province.

On her first day at ADC, Weber went straight to the tissue culture laboratory and greenhouse facilities to learn about ADC’S main areas of concern and to discuss how to make her trip as productive as possible. From there, Weber launched into training ADC scientists how to run various diagnostic tests for plant-associated microorganisms at the tissue culture and greenhouse level.

It didn’t take long for her to experience one of the obstacles her peers in Kenya regularly face. “The electricity cuts in and out. If you are working in a sterile hood, the fan will go out and there’s nothing you can do about it. It takes a few minutes for the backup generator to kick in,” says Weber. “Still, I was really impressed by how well their tissue culture lab worked, considering the less-than-ideal conditions.”

Due to limitations associated with the available diagnostic tests, Weber recommended that ADC implement a broad pathogen eradication procedure for all of the company’s potato lines. “It’s very expensive to initiate numerous diagnostic tests, so a lot of times when you don’t know what microorganisms are present, it’s better to assume everything is infected and put all plants through a curing process,” she says.

Weber was also able to share some helpful tips to improve the company’s tissue culture media, increase lighting in the growth rooms and optimize the nutrient solution sprayed in the aeroponic systems used to grow mini-tubers.

Since returning to Madison Weber has stayed in contact with ADC scientists, exchanging e-mail correspondence regularly. She plans to assist with the pathogen eradication procedure from Madison, offering advice and answering questions via e-mail and Skype as needed.

“It is an ongoing project,” Weber says. “That has been the most rewarding part of this experience.”