Spore-trapping program helps Canada’s Alberta potato growers fight late blight

Another potato-growing season is in the books as harvest gains full steam, alongside another successful spore-trapping program in the fight against blight in Alberta, as Greg Price reports for Western Producer.

The Potato Growers of Alberta adopted its Insect Monitoring and Spore Trapping Program in 2014.

Going from approximately mid-June to early September, the vigilant application of the program across the province has put the disease, which also affects tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, petunias and solanaceous weeds, to the fringes in how well it is monitored. When minor outbreaks occur, the proactive program ensures they do not become major ones.

“We have traps all over the province, strategically located in the growing areas. Those traps are sampled every single day and once a week those samples are sent to the lab and tested,” said Terence Hochstein, PGA executive director.

“Not only does it pick up late blight, it will pick up early blight and other airborne things. There might be a few days it picks up a few spores, but if it becomes a consistent pattern, then we go find it.”

Promax Agronomy Services is the managing partner that helps run the program for PGA, where buy in on all levels of agricultural producers has led to success for the program.

Fuente: Western Producer. Full story here