Europe: New Strain of Potato Blight. Another Threat to Farmers’ Fields!
At the end of last season, monitoring by Fight Against Blight (FAB) confirmed the detection of the EU46 strain in Wales and eastern Scotland, the first appearance of this genotype in the UK.
Strain EU46 (pictured) is already present in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands and is known to be resistant to oxathiapiprolin, as well as isolates with reduced susceptibility to mandipropamide and metalaxyl-M.
Spores dispersed by the wind
It’s unknown how the fungus arrived in Britain, although Dr. David Cooke, a plant pathologist at the James Hutton Institute, suggests wind-dispersed spores are a possible explanation. The discovery is another example of the constantly evolving threats that potato blight poses to farmers.
These threats are becoming increasingly difficult to control as fungicide options become more limited due to changes in plant resistance or increasingly stringent regulations. The fact that two cases of EU46 were detected late in the season means it’s uncertain whether they aren’t found elsewhere where samples were simply not taken. At the same time, scientists say that EU36 and EU41 strains remain a threat, with the potential to develop further resistance.
Fuente: topagrar.pl
