Potato Extension
Focus on Potato: Managing Diseases with Biopesticides in Potato Production
Potato diseases account for a significant portion of crop production costs and yield losses each year. A broad range of plant pathogens can impact quality and yield of potato plants both in the field and post-harvest in transit or storage. For some chronic diseases, fungicides are essential to protect yield and quality. Growers, now more than ever, have an increasing number of biopesticide options available to integrate into their overall disease management programs. Understanding the modes of action of biopesticides is critical in making such products work for successful disease management. This presentation will address some of the basics of biopesticides including product categories, modes of action, and efficacy as they pertain to conventional potato systems.
NDSU / U of M International Potato Scout School
The NDSU / U of M International Potato Scout School field training will be held in Grand Forks on July 7. This training will encompass potato researchers and Extension specialists who work with seed certification, breeding, entomology, and weed science. BASF is sponsoring the meal.
Aphid Alert for June 29
Getting some more traps up and running. Aphid numbers remain low although we expect them to increase as the season moves along. Don't forget to be scouting for aphids!
Blightline June 26
No late blight has been reported in our region. Late blight has been reported in potatoes in Adams County, WI. The genotype has not yet been identified. Late blight severity values are accumulating due to the wet and cool conditions in June. Several irrigated locations have reached late blight severity values of 15, including Beach, Inkster, Leonard, Linton, Michigan and Oakes. At this threshold value, accumulated conditions are conducive for late blight if inoculum is present; growers are encouraged to apply a protective fungicide such as chlorothalonil or mancozeb. Chlorothalonil is in short supply this year and may be difficult to find.
Blightline June 22
No late blight has been reported in our region. As you all know, our potato planting and emergence are ahead of normal, and late blight severity values are accumulating due to the wet and cool conditions in June. Several locations have reached late blight severity values of 15, including Beach, Leonard and Oakes. At this threshold value, accumulated conditions are conducive for late blight if inoculum is present, growers are encouraged to apply a protective fungicide such as chlorothalonil or mancozeb. Chlorothalonil is in short supply this year and may be difficult to find.
Aphid Alert Start for 2015
And so it begins..... Traps have begun to report and there have been some aphids flying already. Including one Green Peach Aphid recovered from Ada, MN! Not an auspicious start to the year but I suspect the winged GPA recovered in the trap is a recent immigrant to our fair Valley. The winds were right for immigration events two weeks ago and we had rain, which would have brought airborne aphids to the ground. While it's doubtful we have treatable populations of aphids in potatoes yet, this week's trap catch indicates it's never too early to start scouting...
Blightline June 8, 2015
No late blight has been reported in our region. Late blight has been reported in Florida and Texas in 2015. As you all know, our potato planting and emergence are ahead of normal, and late blight severity values are accumulating due to the wet and cool conditions in May and early June.
On the Look Out for Bacterial Soft Rot
We are interested in obtaining samples of bacterial rots to characterize what types are present in potato tubers. If you suspect bacterial rot, please contact me or send me a sample of a few tubers.
Focus on Potato: Best Management Tactics and Fungicide Resistance in Alternaria Populations
Broad-spectrum fungicides are the primary products used for the management of Alternaria. However, a shift to include narrow spectrum fungicides in rotation was made in order to minimize the impacts on mammal toxicity and alleviate environmental concerns due to chemical residues. Fungicide resistance must be taken into account when the chemical affects a single site and is repeatedly used. This presentation will provide consultants and growers with the best practices to manage early blight on potato. It will review fungicide basics, exhibit how quickly fungicide resistance develops, will briefly compare pathogenicity and aggressiveness of the early blight pathogen, A. solani, to the brown spot pathogen, A. alternata, and review best management tactics for early blight.
NDSU Potato Blightline to Operate in 2015
The Plant Pathology Department at North Dakota State University will again be providing the potato Blightline service at no charge to the potato industry of North Dakota and western Minnesota in 2015. You can access the Blightline information by phone, email, texts, or the NDSU/U of M Potato Extension and the Potato Pathology website.
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