The British Potato Council (BPC) has launched its web-based aphid-monitoring service for the 2007 season.

Designed to help potato seed growers maintain the high health status of the British crop, it is updated daily by the York-based Central Science Laboratory and gives growers an early, local indication of aphid migrations.

Phil Northing, who runs the service, said it uses a traffic- light system showing rising levels of aphids in traps, region by region.

Growers can also sign up to new SMS alerts which send messages to mobile phones when the first peach-potato aphid - the species that can transmit viruses such as Potato Virus Y - is found in their area.

A weekly alert can also be sent when a level of the grower's choice has been exceeded.

The service is only available to levy-payers and has been developed over ten years.

Data is based on aphids caught in 100 BPC-funded traps placed around the main seed-growing regions in Britain.

Potato growers can log on to the service at www.potato.org.uk/aphids