Canada: Know your fusarium to make correct control decisions

Fusarium infections in potatoes are common, but more strains are showing resistance to fungicides. 
“Resistance management is an important piece to consider when making plans about how we are going to manage fusarium,” Mike Harding, a plant pathologist at Alberta Agriculture’s Crop Development Centre, told Potato Growers of Alberta’s annual meeting held in Red Deer Nov. 18-19. There is no single way to control the disease, so growers need to use as many best management practices as they can to keep it from destroying an entire crop. 
“Fusarium diseases can sneak up or sometimes cause losses that go seemingly unnoticed,” he said. 
“They are especially problematic when we try to store potatoes for a long time because people like to eat potatoes all year long.”
 “It is important to understand the biology so that we can make the correct decisions,” he said. 
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