There is increasing pressure on potato crops from blight this season, with BPC Blight Watch recording 10 days out of 12 in early June reaching high-risk Smith Period criteria in Yorkshire alone. In comparison, only one day in that region reached the same level during the same period last year.
Syngenta is stressing to growers that they must maintain close spray intervals to keep out disease. However frequent heavy rainstorms can compromise application timing, according to the company’s Jon Ogborn, with crops potentially left vulnerable if protection is washed off.
Ogborn advocated the use of Revus, which is said to bind safely to the waxy layer as soon as the spray is dry, meaning it will not be washed off by heavy rain or irrigation.
He also pointed out that its continuous release and movement through the leaf retains a high concentration of active between applications.
In spite of the dire blight warnings, Ogborn anticipated that prospects are good for high crop yields.
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