LATE BLIGHT SHOULD NOT AFFECT POTATOES
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 -- 10:06 AM
A University of Wisconsin-Madison extension vegetable specialist says the late blight fungus should not affect the quality or quantity of potatoes stored in the state this year. A.J. Bussan says growers have been taking preventative action to manage late blight since it reached its peak six to eight weeks ago. Those steps, he says, will help protect the crop, about 80% of which is put into storage. In a newsletter to growers Bussan said that the threat from late blight is decreasing as the season moves along. Late blight often starts in a plant's leaves, causing brown, spreading lesions to appear before attacking the rest of the plant. The last time there was a late blight outbreak in Wisconsin potatoes was in 2002.Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.