POMATO on Air: Food4Sustainability Shares How We’re Tackling Bacterial Diseases in Potato & Tomato

Natalia Sierra from Food4Sustainability (F4S) – POMATO’s partner in Portugal – joined the Portuguese radio programme Regional Rural to explain why this work matters and how farmers can get involved.

Why POMATO?

Two quarantine-listed bacterial diseases – Clavibacter sepedonicus (ring rot) and Ralstonia solanacearum (bacterial wilt) – pose serious risks to potato and tomato production. There is no single, definitive treatment today, and outbreaks can trigger severe yield losses and market restrictions. POMATO brings together partners from 10 countries (8 European + 2 Latin American) to develop practical, sustainable solutions farmers can apply.

What the interview covered

• The challenge: Cs and Rs are quarantine pests with strict regulatory implications. Past detections (e.g., 2012/2014 in Portugal) show the need for better prevention and early detection alongside good agronomic practice.

• Our approach:

  • Sustainable agronomy to reduce infection pressure.

  • Bio-control – testing safe, nature-based products that can counter harmful bacteria.

  • Early detection using remote sensing – drones and satellites paired with AI/ML models to distinguish healthy vs. diseased plants quickly and non-invasively.

• Field validation: POMATO will test solutions in real conditions over four years – Portugal and Poland in Europe, Colombia and Ecuador in Latin America.

• F4S role in Portugal: Lead the non-invasive early detection work locally and coordinate with associations and producers to identify pilot sites and support on-farm testing.

• Collaboration cadence: The consortium meets regularly (several times monthly) to share progress and align technical work.

Call for Portuguese growers

Food4Sustainability is inviting potato and tomato producers in Portugal to collaborate in pilot activities – especially those interested in testing early-detection tools (drones/satellite + AI/ML) and contributing real-world insights.

>> Listen to the whole interview in Portuguese HERE.