There’s no escaping the dangers of blight. It can wreak havoc on early crops, decimate entire fields, infect haulms even after desiccants have been applied, and rot tubers in store leading to a complete loss of yield.
Blight is a huge risk to growers year after year, and at UPL, we’re committed to doing everything we can to help you combat it.
One of the ways we’re doing that is with our key platinum sponsorship of The Fight Against Blight.
The rising risk of blight
With many potato crops across the UK currently behind in development having emerged into warmer conditions, there’s an even higher risk of blight striking your crop.
Add to that the new strains that continue to emerge and develop, often from European countries which have fewer fungicidal options, and the fight against blight is a constant challenge.
These new strains are often fitter, and more aggressive, says Geoff Hailstone, UPL’s potato technical expert. Often they are able to infect in cooler conditions, and with the risk that they will establish earlier and the short blight life cycle, they can quickly build up resistance to traditional single site fungicides.
Staying on top of these new strains is crucial, which is why The Fight Against Blight is so important.
The Fight Against Blight Report
The Fight Against Blight is a research initiative delivered by The James Hutton Institute that tracks and reports on blight alerts and outbreaks across the UK.
Since 2017, the Fight Against Blight has helped growers identify new strains early and take the necessary precautions to protect their crops.
So when funding was recently lost, we felt it was extremely important for UPL to step in as a platinum sponsor for the report.
The benefits of the Fight Against Blight project are clear to us all. It:
Helps us identify the spread of blight from across the continent and into UK farms
Helps us spot and classify new strains early on
Gives UK growers the time to develop a strategy to prevent blight emergence
Guides our product development team in the development of new fungicide mixes to combat the varying strains of the blight fungus
All in all, the Fight Against Blight is another important tool in blight control management, alongside our key multisite fungicide MANZATE and our Blight Forecast App.
It’s essential in helping growers fight the economic impact of blight, and is a cause we’ll always champion.
See the full Fight Against Blight Report
