New webcast helps potato growers avoid devastating powdery scab outbreaks

Powdery scab is a difficult disease to manage and can be potentially devastating to susceptible potato varieties under certain environmental conditions. The Plant Management Network has released a new presentation entitled “Practical Management of Powdery Scab” to help professionals reduce the likelihood of infections with a comprehensive management approach including disease avoidance, cultivar resistance, soil testing, proper irrigation, and chemical applications. The webcast, developed by Robert D. Davidson, professor and Extension specialist at Colorado State University, discusses the importance of learning to recognize: Environmental conditions that favor infections and spore mobility; relative risk of an outbreak through field history and soil testing; and potato cultivars resistant to lesions and root galls. The 21-minute presentation will remain open access through June 2017 in the Focus on Potato webcast resource. More