Farmers are well aware that late blight is a constant threat: the disease is dangerous for potatoes at almost all stages of crop development. Avoiding serious losses, as the Farming Life portal notes, is possible only with a previously developed control plan and timely measures to prevent the disease.
At the same time, experts note that every year it is becoming more difficult to fight late blight. Robin Bolton, a senior adviser on crop development at the College of Agriculture, Food and Agriculture (CAFRE), stresses: “The situation is getting worse because a number of active substances that were part of the well-known drugs are being removed from the European market, and late blight produces new strains, which are resistant or less sensitive to permitted chemicals.
The Euroblight monitoring results for 2019 show that the new late blight strain 37A2 is currently widespread in Northern Ireland, so only Fluazinam (Shirlan) cannot be counted on to help. 36 A2 has also been discovered in Northern Ireland - this strain is considered even more aggressive. ”
“New drugs have appeared on the market that allow you to keep late blight in control. - says Robin Bolton. “However, given the rate of spread of the disease and its ability to create new strains, new products must be used with great care, as resistance to them can develop very quickly.”
Success can only be achieved by using a set of measures and early treatment.
“For the first time this year, information that the prevailing weather conditions are favorable for the development of late blight (according to Hatton's criteria) on the site Fight Against Blight was published on May 19, and experts from the UK Agricultural and Horticultural Development Council (AHDB) recommended fungicidal treatments (using drugs with systemic and translaminar action), starting from an early stage of growth.
Source: Read the full report on Farming Life. here