Potato Late Blight Found

Potato Late Blight Found

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. It's a problem that potato growers are always on the lookout for so that when it IS found, they're ready to deal with it. So now, after signs of late blight were found in a field north of Pasco, the Washington Potato Commission's Matthew Blua says the wheels are in motion ...

BLUA ... "You know, we're concerned about late blight every year, and there was a positive test for late blight that we're on top of. And, we're advising our growers on how to deal with that given their different situations."

Blua says those situations vary from farm to farm ...

BLUA ... "And, the situations are, how they irrigate, for example. Overhead sprinkler irrigation or pivot irrigation, tends to be better for influencing late blight than real irrigation, furrow irrigation. And so, you may do different things depending on how you irrigate and your distance from the initial location where late blight was discovered."

Blua says late blight is typically detected on the leaves, but it's more than just blemishes ...

BLUA ... "Well, it certainly decreases yield and that's a big deal because the photosynthetic machinery that generates all that carbon in the tubers comes from the leaves. That's the machinery that captures the sunlight and carbon dioxide and turns that into tubers."

Blua says even though late blight is found somewhat regularly in the Columbia Basin, this is the first detection this year and it was found relatively early.

Previous ReportWolf Delisting Update
Next ReportWA Potato Commission Fund Raiser