Inside the Industry: Disease Control Spudman recently polled readers through an online survey on the challenges they're facing in controlling potato diseases. Here are the results from their responses. Which diseases concern you the most? (Percentage of respondents that ranked disease either first or second) Potato virus Y (PVY) ....15% Late blight ...................14% Dickeya .......................13% Early blight ..................13% Common scab .............10% Pink rot .........................9% Fusarium dry rot ...........7% White mold ...................7% Black rot .......................6% Other* ..........................6% (*Verticillium wilt most cited among " Other. " ) Has controlling the disease gotten harder, easier or remained stable in recent years? Harder 65% Remained stable 27% Easier 8% What is your biggest challenge in combating the disease? Common scab " No feasible control outside planting resistant cultivars. " " There is no control available that actually works. " PVY " Research is showing current available chemicals aren't effective. " " Industry doesn't accept the resistant variety as much as susceptible ones. " " (Finding) clean seed. " Dickeya " Early detection of problem and how to combat it. " " The difficulty spotting it until it is too late. " Late blight " (Knowing) when to spray. " " Identifying strain. " Pink rot Are you satisfied with the methods of disease control available? 75% No 25% Yes What is the biggest challenge in controlling the disease? Growing resistance ............................................43% Chemical I relied on no longer available ..............6% Other (see comments).......................................51% Have you used or would you consider using biologicals to combat disease? 13% No 30 Spudman.com 36% I need more information 51% Yes " Climate change, increased temperatures. " Mop top virus " Extent of virus not known in industry; seed certification rules are needed but not present. " " Currently experiencing problems with mop top and there is no treatment available for it. " General concerns " New diseases showing up in seed. " " My concern is the toolbox we have to combat pests is getting emptier, therefore, we start relying on the same chemistry to battle these pests. For a resistance point of view, this is alarming. " " I'd like to hear more about other products in the market, including fumigants, that suppress verticillium. "http://www.Spudman.com