Feb 10, 2020Dutch potato growers criticized for overusing fungicides by agronomist
Scottish agronomist Denis Buckley says the dwindling arsenal of fungicides available to European potato growers has them using the ones that are available irresponsibly.
Buckley spoke at the SAC Association of Potato Producers annual conference in Perth, UK, in January on the subject, reported The Courier’s Nancy Nicolson. Buckley singled out Dutch growers, specifically, saying they were behaving “insane and irresponsible” in their fungicide application in combating late blight.
Buckley’s criticism was for overusing single agents instead utilizing of a mixture of products. He fears that this will lead to increased susceptibility as the pathogen develops resistance to these products, adding that the breeding industry won’t be able to develop varieties quick enough to overcome it.
Buckley, of Highfield Lodge Agronomy, did add that he has hope that the CRISPR gene-editing technology can provide suitable options.
Be sure to check out The Courier’s full article here for more on the story.
In a separate article by The Scotsman on the conference, it was noted that active ingredients used to control pests and diseases available to European growers has dwindled from 987 in 1983 to fewer than 440.
