Control measures
The following preventive control measures can be implemented to limit gangrene:
- good farm hygiene (cleaning and disinfection of buildings and equipment, destruction of waste, etc.);
- choose, if available, tolerant cultivars;
- harvest within 3 to 4 weeks of haulm destruction when tuber skin is sufficiently mature;
- minimise tuber wounds at harvest and during handling operations (grading etc.);
- eliminate infected tubers;
- prior to storage, allow time and adequate conditions (temperature and ventilation) to favour the healing of tuber surface and wounds caused by handling;
- use appropriate long term storage conditions;
- in the case of seed production only, chemical fungicides can be applied after harvesting on cleaned (‘soil-free’) tubers.