They send 2,500 breeding "clones" annually to Hector Lozoya-Saldana, a collaborator in Chapingo, Mexico, where late blight is endemic. Defender, a 2006 release from the program, has helped growers save on fungicides and other expenses associated with controlling late blight, which attacks the crop's leaves and tubers, rendering the latter unmarketable.
For more information, watch for the article in our August issue of Potato Grower.