Potato storage rots likely this winter

This fall might be a tough one for a few Manitoba potato growers battling rots like pink eye, bud-end decay, late blight and leak in storage. Generally, these diseases are present in storages but the levels are not abnormally high, so a caution is warranted. According to Vikram Bisht, Manitoba’s provincial plant pathologist, leak and late blight infected tubers have already been found in some Manitoba storages. “There was a late season incidence of late blight disease, probably following September 4 to 6 thunderstorms and rainfalls,” he says. “Foliar late blight symptoms appeared soon after the rains and were first reported from Carberry, around September 8 and 9.” Neil Gudmestad, a distinguished professor of plant pathology at North Dakota State University, says growers in North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba will also face issues with pink eye and leak in storage this fall due to late-season rains. More