East Lansing, Michigan
August 23, 2007
Managing and controlling potato
diseases is a complex task for growers, but thanks to efforts by
plant pathologists at Michigan
State University (MSU), their job has gotten a bit easier.
Farmers now have access to eight bulletins, a pocket-sized
scouting guide and a Web site that they can refer to for help in
identifying and controlling potato diseases.
Willie Kirk and Phill Wharton, plant pathologists at MSU,
developed the Web site,
http://www.potatodiseases.org, and scouting guide, “A
Pocket Guide to Disease Scouting in Michigan Potatoes”
(bulletin E-2998), as reference tools to help farmers identify
common potato diseases in Michigan.
“Our goal is to provide the state’s potato growers with the
science-based information they need to make decisions to control
and prevent potato diseases,” Wharton said.
The scouting guide was developed as a pocket reference text for
use in disease scouting in potato fields. It includes lists of
the basic symptoms for each disease, photos, a description of
disease cycles, and details on how to distinguish between
diseases with similar symptoms. When growers detect disease
symptoms in their crop, they can refer to the scouting guide to
make a preliminary disease diagnosis. They should then send a
plant sample to the MSU Center for Plant Diagnostic Services or
to their local county MSU Extension office to confirm disease
identification.
“Hopefully, the scouting guide will help farmers make
preliminary diagnoses of any diseases that may exist in their
fields,” Wharton said. “Growers should use the guide in
combination with the bulletins, which have detailed information
on each disease and suggest recommended cultural, biological and
chemical control options.
“It is important to identify diseases at an early stage because
several diseases may have similar-looking symptoms. For example,
foliar lesions of gray mold and early blight -- controllable
diseases in Michigan -- have similar-looking lesions to late
blight, a very serious disease that may result in the loss of an
entire crop if it’s not caught early,” he said. “It’s important
to be able to distinguish between the lesions of these three
diseases because immediate action needs to be taken if late
blight is discovered in a potato field.”
Growers may refer to the bulletins or the Web site for control
options once a disease is confirmed in their fields. Wharton
said the Web site is basically an electronic version of the
printed bulletins. It provides up-to-date recommendations, news,
alerts and the same basic information as the scouting guide. The
eight bulletins are:
- “Late Blight” (bulletin
E-2945),
- “White Mold” (E-2989),
- “Common Scab of Potato”
(E-2990),
- “Early Blight” (E-2991),
- “Fusarium Dry Rot”
(E-2992),
- “Pink Rot” (E-2993),
- “Rhizoctonia Stem Canker
and Black Scurf of Potato” (E-2994) and
- “Potato Seed Health
Management” (E-2995).
The late blight bulletin costs $2;
the others cost $1.50 each. The scouting guide, “A Pocket Guide
to Disease Scouting in Michigan Potatoes” (E-2998), costs $10
per copy.
Bulletins can be downloaded as PDFs at
http://www.potatodiseases.org/extensionpubs.html or
purchased through the MSU Bulletin Office,
http://www.emdc.msue.msu.edu/.
The research conducted by Kirk and Wharton that appears in the
bulletins and on the Web site received funding from Project
GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and
Environmental Needs), Michigan’s plant agriculture initiative at
MSU. Production of the Web site was also funded by Project
GREEEN.
Founded in 1997, Project GREEEN is a cooperative effort between
plant-based commodities and businesses together with the
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension and the
Michigan Department of Agriculture to advance Michigan’s economy
through its plant-based agriculture. Its mission is to develop
research and educational programs in response to industry needs,
ensure and improve food safety, and protect and preserve the
quality of the environment. To learn more about Michigan’s plant
agriculture initiative at MSU, visit
www.greeen.msu.edu.
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