US potato growers in Idaho are to receive government aid in an attempt to beat a bout of potato cyst nematode that is drying-up exports.

Last week agriculture secretary Mike Johanns approved £5 million in emergency funding to help growers eradicate the pest. The pest can shrink yields by as much as 80 percent.

The worm was initially discovered during routine testing in April 2006 in a field in south-east Idaho. Additional testing led to a quarantine on six nearby fields, an area spanning about 4 000 hectares.

After the initial discovery, all fresh US potato imports were banned by Japan, followed by South Korea, Canada and Mexico. The discovery and market bans alarmed growers and industry leaders in Idaho, the nation's leading potato producer.

Idaho farmers grow about one-third of all the potatoes in the United States. In 2005, the most recent year figures are available, the state produced 5.67 billion kg of potatoes, worth about £350 million to farmers.

The federal money will be used to inject a pesticide in the soil of restricted fields, which will then be covered with plastic, creating a layer of intense heat that researchers hope will wipe out the worm. The strategy was developed in January by a team of scientists from around the world.

It is thought that the regimen may have to be repeated for as long as six years before the worm is eliminated.

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