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Late blight on potato in Bhutan

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A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases

A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Wed 7 August 2008
Source: Bhutan Broadcasting Service [edited]
<http://www.bbs.com.bt/Late%20blight%20affects%20potato%20production%20in%20Yusipang.html>

Late blight affects potato production in Yusipang

The outbreak of late blight, a potato plant disease, is affecting potato production in the farms of Yusipang in Thimphu.

The disease occurs during monsoon [rainy] season. The blight appears 1st as a light to dark green spot. It usually appears first on the lower leaves and then affects the potato plant leaves in an upward direction. During cool, moist weather, the spots spread on the leaves rapidly into dark or brown color, ultimately killing the plants. The spots also spread down [leaf] petioles and stems of the plant.

Kezang Tshering, the research officer in the horticulture sector at Yusipang said farmers are being advised to use chemical spray containing fungicide to prevent the outbreak of late blight. But he said farmers do not use the chemical spray in time.

Kezang Tshering said if chemical sprays [reach] the farmers in time and if farmers use the spray as recommended by the agriculture workers then production will pick up.

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ProMED-mail
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[Potato late blight (PLB) is caused by the fungus _Phytophthora infestans_, which can also infect other solanaceous crops such as tomato & eggplant. The fungus affects leaves as well as tubers and can cause 100 percent crop loss. It is spread by plant material (including seed tubers), wind, and water, and solanaceous weeds can serve as pathogen reservoirs. Other fungi and bacteria often invade blight-infected tubers resulting in total tuber breakdown. Disease management includes preventative fungicide treatment of seed tubers and additional fungicide applications to the crop. Some PLB resistant potato varieties are available. The pathogen is considered an increasing threat worldwide because new and even more virulent strains continue to emerge.

For more information on PLB see links and previous posts below.

Maps
Bhutan:
<http://www.m-w.com/maps/images/maps/bhutan_map.gif>
and
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=27.4,90.4,5>
Bhutan districts:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Bhutan>

Pictures
Late blight on potato:
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2007/01/070102132649.jpg> and <http://www-biol.paisley.ac.uk/bioref/Chromista/potato_blight.jpg>
Tomato field destroyed by late blight:
<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/BioSecurity/Images/lateblightbolkan.jpg>

Links
Late blight fact sheets:
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3102.html>  and <http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Potato_LateBlt.htm>
Disease history and background:
<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/lateblit/>  and <http://www.olympusmicro.com/micd/galleries/brightfield/potatoblight.html>
Late blight information and resources via:
<http://www.potato.org.uk/department/knowledge_transfer/fight_against_blight/advice_blight.html>
_P. infestans_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=232148>
Global Initiative on Late Blight:
<http://gilb.cip.cgiar.org/>.  - Mod.DHA

A severe form of PLB was responsible for the Irish potato famine in the late 1840s, which led to mass emigration of Irish to America - Mod.JW]

[see also in the archive:
Late blight type A2, tomato - Taiwan: 1st report 20080615.1891 Late blight, potato - UK: (Scotland), alert 20080430.1482 Late blight, tomato, potato - USA: (FL) 20080219.0664 Potato diseases - India: (West Bengal) 20080206.0477 Late blight, potato - Papua New Guinea: recovery 20080121.0256 Fungal diseases, potato - Bangladesh 20080107.0091
2007
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Late blight, potato - India (02): (Punjab, W Bengal) 20071221.4099 Late blight, potato - UK: new strains 20071207.3939 Late blight, potato - India: (Punjab), alert 20071116.3715 Fungal diseases, vegetable crops - Canada: cucumber, potato 20070730.2442 Late blight, potato & vegetable fungal diseases - Europe 20070708.2174 Late blight, potato - India, UK 20070509.1491
2006
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Late blight, potato - India (Kashmir) 20060424.1200 Late blight, potato - USA (AK), Bangladesh 20060324.0911
2003
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Late blight, potato - Papua New Guinea 20030306.0554
2002
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Potato late blight, potato - Canada (Newfoundland) 20020818.5091
2001
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Phytophthora infestans, potato late blight - Russia 20010620.1177 2000
----
Potato late blight, global research efforts 20001031.1903 Potato late blight: global initiative 20000516.0765
1996
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Potato late blight: global threat 19960617.1123]

 

 

 

 

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