Potato late blight reported
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Late blight has reached potato fields in Aroostook County, and officials with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension are advising growers to be scouting their fields at this time.
According to Dr. Steven B. Johnson, crops specialist and extension professor, late blight has been reported in Bridgewater, Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Limestone and Caswell.
“It’s entered the area; it’s not massive bits and pieces anywhere; it’s just that it’s now present, we know it, and we need to redouble our efforts,” he said, noting that the late blight was reported last Wednesday and Thursday. “We’ve been predicting this; we knew it was imminent and that it was coming. There isn’t a reason to hit the panic button, but there certainly is a reason to mind our Ps and Qs.”
Symptoms of late blight include irregular-shaped, water-soaked, greasy gray spots surrounded by white mold, which eventually turn into blackened areas on the stems and leaves. These blackened areas dry up, wilt and die.
Johnson urges growers to call the pest management hotline (760-9IPM or 1-888-USE-UMCE) and listen to the recommended spray schedule and which material should be used.
“If late blight is found, we strongly encourage growers to contact their neighbors,” he said. “This will allow your neighbors to be aware of the situation and undertake any additional practices they deem necessary.”
Recognizing that the region has received a lot of rain this summer, Johnson said the areas that have had more rain are the areas the late blight has showed up in first.
“I’m expecting more reports of late blight along the eastern edge of Aroostook County,” said Johnson. “This isn’t the end of the world; growers just need to be proactive. This isn’t our first rodeo.”
