Prevent and manage potato plant diseases for a thriving crop with expert guidance.
To ensure the health of potato plants, they need proper care. This includes fertilization, watering, and pest and disease control. These tasks must follow the correct technical procedures. Particularly, the prevention of harmful diseases on potato plants. Xu Farm provides specific guidance. It will help everyone spot and stop main pests and diseases on potatoes.
1. Potato Plant Diseases Caused by Viruses
Several harmful viruses affect potato plants. Curly top virus and leaf roll virus are common.
Curly Top Virus infects plants. It makes their leaves curl and stunts their growth. Infected plants look dwarfed. The leaves of affected plants are wrinkled. Their leaflets are rough and have irregular color. They also make few small tubers.
Leaf Roll Virus causes pale yellowish spots on leaves. The spots mix with the leaves’ green. They form wrinkled, spotted patterns. The leaves may become smaller, curved at the edges, and have a rough texture.
Leafhoppers send viruses by feeding on infected plants or through mechanical injury.
Prevention Measures: Currently, no chemicals treat these viral diseases. So, prevention is crucial:
Use disease-free potato seeds.
Regularly inspect your fields. If you notice any symptoms, uproot and destroy both the plant and the infected tuber.
Use insecticides to control leafhoppers. They spread disease. Use products like Actara 25WG and Penalty 40WP.
2. Blue Wilt Disease
Cause: Caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas solanacearum. This disease causes sudden plant death and tuber rot. It spreads and cuts yield.
Symptoms: Infected plants appear healthy, but their leaves and stems wilt. The next day, the plant may recover, but in the evening, wilting recurs. After a few days, the plant’s base rots and dies.
Transmission: Blue wilt disease spreads due to several factors:
Use of infected seed potatoes during planting.
Contaminated irrigation water from channels with the bacterium.
Previous crops, like potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, or peanuts, may leave the bacterium in the soil.
Using fresh manure as fertilizer, which may contain disease-causing bacteria.
Preventive Measures:
Use disease-free seed potatoes.
Rotate crops with non-solanaceous crops like rice. Avoid planting in fields with a history of solanaceous crops.
Use composted manure for fertilization.
Avoid using contaminated water, and cover crops during rainy periods.
Promptly remove and destroy infected plants.
Use bactericides like Phi san 20EC, Staner 20WP, or Totan 200 WP to limit spread.
3. Late Blight Disease
The fungus Phytophthora infestans causes it. This disease affects the leaves, stems, and tubers. At first, it appears as small spots on leaves. Later, they turn brown with a pale yellow edge. This change starts at the leaf edges. On tubers, the disease causes sunken, brownish lesions.
Disease Development: Late blight thrives and spreads fast. It does this under high humidity. This includes rain, dew, and cold winds. Wet springs with little sunlight exacerbate the disease’s impact. Fields with too much nitrogen are more susceptible. They have soft foliage and get watered often during stem and leaf growth.
Preventive Measures:
Use disease-free seed potatoes.
Apply balanced fertilization, avoiding excessive nitrogen.
Use trench irrigation to cut leaf wetting.
In winter, during frost or visible morning dew, use preventive sprays. Use ones like 1% Bordeaux mixture. If the disease is present, you can use Ridomil 72WP or Kasuran 0.2% for control.
4. Potato Root Rot Disease
Cause: Caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. In infected plants, the lower stem near the ground surface becomes tight and brown. The leaves curl upwards and often turn yellow or purple, especially at the tips. The root system also rots. The disease is more severe when potatoes are grown in fields before affected by dry rot.
Preventive Measures:
Uproot and remove diseased plants to prevent spread.
Use certain fungicides, such as Validacin 5L, Anvil 5SC, and Moceren 25WP. Use them when the disease is present. Also, treat straw residue in fields before hit by dry rot.
5. Potato Scab Disease
The tubers have raised lesions. They are star-shaped or bird’s-foot-like. They have brown powder inside. Small warty lumps of white tissue may form on the roots, which later turn brown. The disease intensifies when seed potatoes are infected from the last season. It also intensifies in high humidity. The Diamant potato variety (from the Netherlands) is more susceptible to severe scab.
Causative Agent: Caused by the bacterium Actinomyces scabies.
Preventive Measures:
Choose potato varieties less prone to the disease.
Avoid using decomposed manure as fertilizer and opt for disease-free seed potatoes.
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