China: New Rapid Potato Virus Detection Kit Boosts Yield and Profits

Test results are available within 5 minutes

"We have spent four years independently developing this series of products," said Professor Lyu Dianqiu, the head of the potato team at the Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation at Southwest University and the chief expert of the Chongqing Potato Industry Technology System Innovation Team.

The self-developed rapid detection kit for potato virus, developed by Professor Lyu and his team, employs biotechnology-derived immunological antibodies and innovative nano-microsphere materials and delivers test results in just 5 minutes, replacing traditional materials.

Professor Lyu said the kit is simple to operate, highly sensitive, specific, and cost-effective, making it particularly suitable for field testing. His team has developed four types of virus nano-simulated enzyme immunoassay kits, including PVX and PVY, which are ten times more sensitive than colloidal gold test strips.

He emphasized their product’s core competitiveness lies in its independently developed core raw materials, specifically the immune technique-prepared antibodies against potato virus diseases. This product series is priced at least 50% lower than comparable foreign products.

"We fully own the intellectual property rights to the core gene sequences of the antibodies," said Professor Lyu. "Additionally, the manufacturing equipment is entirely domestically produced." 

Professor Lyu Dianqiu leads the technical research team. (Photo/Lyu Dianqiu)

1,000 test kits supplied to BRI countries

Chongqing, China’s sixth-largest potato planting area, has long relied on seed potatoes from the north. The absence of effective detection technology has hindered quality assurance, leading to potato yield losses of 10%-20% or more due to viruses and diseases.

Implementing fast, accurate testing methods for potato seed quality can diminish disease occurrences and pesticide use, ensuring greener, healthier potato production. This approach improves Chongqing’s potato seed quality, boosting yield and economic gains.

So far, the rapid diagnostic kit has been promoted and used in potato enterprises and scientific research institutes in Shizhu and Wuxi of Chongqing, as well as in Bazhong of Sichuan Province, and Heilongjiang, Gansu, Hebei, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces.

Additionally, the team has supplied 1,000 test kits to countries jointly built in the Belt and Road Initiative, including Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

(Deng Yawen, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)