Control measures

Management of early blight consists of general measures limiting the agronomical stresses and the factors favouring the disease:

• balanced fertilisation and adequate irrigation reduce the growth stress and delay plant senescence;
• several foliar fungicides, such as dithiocarbamates or chlorothalonil, used to control late blight are also effective against early blight;
• use tolerant or less susceptible potato cultivars when available;
• limit the inoculum by the destruction of infected crop residues, groundkeepers, and weed management and avoid planting susceptible crops such as tomatoes in the rotation;
• harvest when tubers are sufficiently mature and limit the wounds at harvesting and handling to avoid tuber rots.