Late blight has a long history of wreaking havoc on potato production dating back to the historic crop failures of the Irish Potato Famine. Despite enormous progress in production practices, disease management chemistry, and crop genetics, late blight continues to lurk as one of the most serious threats to commercial potato production. One reason for this is the pathogen’s ability to change over time to evade management strategies or become more fit in a given environment. This talk will discuss late blight observations from recent growing seasons including 2024, factors driving the potential for change in late blight epidemiology, and key concepts to mitigate risk.
Zachariah Hansen, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS