Control

When the disease is absent, the most efficient control measure is to use healthy seed tubers and to avoid the introduction of the disease through infested soil or any other substrate that might have been in contact with an environment contaminated by spores.

When the fungus is already present, the best control measures are:

• draining the wet areas;
• avoiding over irrigation at tuber initiation;
• using resistant or tolerant cultivars (avoiding tuber resistance linked to root susceptibility);
• maintaining long crop rotations (at least 5 years between two potato crops).

When authorised, fungicides can be used to treat the seed tubers and/or the infected soil but their efficiency is very limited in the case of severe infestation.

Exploiting cultivar resistance can be the most efficient control measure. However cultivar assessment is difficult due to the complexity of the host-parasite relationship.