Fitóftora

One of the scourges of the potato crop – blight – has now been found in all the major growing areas of Scotland, with infestation levels running well ahead of average.

Potato growers are facing many weather-related challenges and recent warm, wet weather has led to a massive increase in the number of Smith Periods this year so far, says Potato Council executive and blight specialist Gary Collins.

Dutch tests on a new strain of potato blight similar to that discovered for the first time in the UK last year have shown some isolates have reduced sensitivity to the common active fluazinam used to control the disease.

Potato crops in Britain are facing high blight pressure this season, demanding the best possible protection under extremely challenging application conditions.

The blight fungicide containing Initium and dimethomorph, Zampro DM, has had reduction of tuber blight incidence added to its label, in addition to the control of late foliar blight.

As part of the Potato Council’s ‘Fight against blight’ campaign, the mapping of late blight outbreaks has demonstrated outgrade piles remain a significant source of blight in potato crops.

The very early discovery of a new potato blight strain in Britain doesn't mean that spray programmes will have to change this year, agree researchers and agronomists.

Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight, has evolved to overcome fungicides and major resistance genes that have been bred into commercial potato cultivars.

Potato growers in the United Kingdom have two additional blight fungicide choices this year after BASF launched two new products into an already crowded market.

Un equipo científico financiado con fondos comunitarios y dirigido por el Laboratorio Sainsbury del Parque Científico de Norwich (Reino Unido) ha descubierto al responsable del tizón tardío o mildiú de la patata y el tomate y el mildiú lanoso de verdur...

Researchers funded by the BBSRC Crop Science Initiative have made a discovery that could instigate a paradigm shift in breeding resistance to Phytophthora infestans

Scientists at the Scottish Crop research Institute (SCRI) have helped unlock the mystery behind potato blight - a disease that costs the global industry an estimated £4billion of losses every year. The same disease devastated crops in Ireland 150 year...