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: 8 Jan 2009
Source: Funkyzine [edited]
<http://businessmonth.blogspot.com/2009/01/bardiya-potato-crop-comes-cropper.html>
Potato crops have been affected by over 50 per cent in Bardiya
[district] this year [2008] due to a cold wave and fungal
diseases caused by cold, fog, and lack of sunshine. Almost all
farmers in Bardiya grow potato as the main crop. The potato
plants have dried up this year. All farmers will suffer huge
losses. They said that no matter what pesticide they used, it
did not work.
The district agriculture development office said potato has been
cultivated on 2550 hectares of land in the district, and over 75
per cent of the crop has been affected by late blight, a fungal
disease. Agriculture technicians said potato production has been
hit by over 50 per cent in the district. Crop protection officer
Rohini Yatri said teams had been mobilized to control the
disease but to no avail.
[byline: Rastriya Samachar Samiti]
--
communicated by: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Potato late blight (PLB) is caused by the fungus-like organism
_Phytophthora infestans_ and can cause 100 per cent crop loss.
It is spread by contaminated plant and other material, wind and
water. It also affects tomato; solanaceous weeds and volunteer
crop plants can serve as pathogen reservoirs. Disease
development is favoured by cool, moist conditions. 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. Infected seed potatoes are often a
problem, and an outbreak has recently
also been reported from northern India (ProMED-mail post no.
20090103.0018). Cultivars with reduced sensitivity to PLB are
being developed, but these efforts are being counteracted by the
adaptability of the pathogen. PLB 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
Nepal:
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/nepal_pol90.jpg>
and
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=28.3,83.9,6>
Nepal districts and municipalities:
<http://www.un.org.np/reports/maps/npcgis/NatBio00004.jpg>
Pictures of PLB symptoms:
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2007/01/070102132649.jpg>
(tuber)
and
<http://www-biol.paisley.ac.uk/bioref/Chromista/potato_blight.jpg>
(leaves)
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]
[see also
in the
archive:
Late blight, potato & tomato: USA (FL), Ireland 20090109.0083
Late blight, potato - India: (PB) 20090103.0018
2008
---
Late blight, potato - Papua New Guinea (02): recovery
20081103.3454
Late blight, potato - India, Canada alert 20080815.2534
Late blight, potato - Bhutan: (TM) 20080811.2473
Potato diseases - India: (West Bengal) 20080206.0477
Late blight, potato - Papua New Guinea: recovery 20080121.0256
2007
---
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
Late blight, potato - India, UK 20070509.1491
2006
---
Late blight, potato - India (Kashmir) 20060424.1200
Late blight, potato - USA (AK), Bangladesh 20060324.0911
2003
---
Late blight, potato - Papua New Guinea 20030306.0554]
