Features Production Research
Eye on Potatoes: New resources help growers identify, control potato diseases

Managing and controlling potato
diseases is a complex task for growers, but thanks to efforts by
Michigan Agriculture Experiment Station (MAES) plant pathologists, the
job has gotten a bit easier.

Managing and controlling potato diseases is a complex task for growers, but thanks to efforts by Michigan Agriculture Experiment Station (MAES) plant pathologists, the job has gotten a bit easier. Farmers now have access to eight bulletins, a pocket-sized scouting guide and a website that they can refer to for help.

Willie Kirk and Phill Wharton, MAES plant pathologists, developed the website – 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.

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.

The bulletins can be downloaded from the www.potatodiseases.org website or purchased through the MSU Bulletin Office at www.emdc.msue.msu.edu. ❦