Time to shift focus to tuber protection
Cambridge, 13th August 2012
Every potato growing area of the country from Cornwall to Aberdeenshire is now coloured red with multiple confirmed blight reports on the GB Fight against Blight map. But, according to Scottish Agronomy’s Eric Anderson, this grossly under represents the extent of the problem.
“Most potato fields have at least a patch of infection or worse so there is a high risk of tuber infection. With inoculum in the canopy, wet soil beneath and tubers setting higher in the ridge this year, spores will have an easy journey to them. In main crops that are only a few weeks away from haulm removal the focus of blight control programmes should therefore shift to tuber protection,” he advises.
Scottish Agronomy’s preference is to use Infinito (fluopicolide + propamocarb) at 1.6 L/ha and Ranman Top (cyazofamid) at 0.5 L/ha for the last two to three sprays. In the latest Euroblight fungicide comparison from 2009-11 field trials, these are the only two formulations with the new decimal tuber blight ratings of 3.9 and 3.8 respectively. Mr Anderson finds the strong anti-sporulant action of Infinito also helps to ‘dry up’ early stage foliar infection.
Attention to application details also remains critical right up to the end of programmes, he emphasises. “Select angled nozzles and keep water volumes above 150 litres to optimise canopy penetration and coverage. Be sure to check the tuber blight focused phase of your programme complies with resistance management guidelines, in light of what you've already applied, and your customer's growing protocol."
Contact:
Albert Pineda, Tel. no: 01223 226626
E-Mail:
David Evington, Tel. no: 07766 350212
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