Integrated Management of Potato and Tomato Late Blight in New York State

Abstract

The late blight network was first established in 1993 to help the potato and tomato industry respond effectively to the potential for serious epidemics of late blight caused by newly introduced Ridomil resistant isolates of Phytophthora infestans. The goal of this ongoing project is to minimize crop losses caused by late blight by educating growers about the importance of sanitation and timely applications of protective fungicides, providing Extension field staff with access to weather data and late blight disease forecasts, providing growers with information on late blight inoculum levels and how favorable the weather has been for late blight epidemic development, and keeping the industry informed about the occurrence and severity of late blight throughout NY and in adjacent states and Canadian provinces.