Management of Late Blight of Potato

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the most important crop and Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary is the oomycete, which was responsible for infamous Irish potato famine during 1843–45 and it continues to cause worldwide devastation of the potato. Moreover, this disease is re-emerging in the forms of different genotypes and causes huge yield loss in the potato crop. The factors which are responsible for huge yield loss of potato are applied improper management strategies and pathogen behavior. Management strategies includes; forecasting, cultural, biological, varietal and chemical management. Forecasting is the better option for management of late blight, if accurately forecasted and promptly information reaches to the end users. As infected potato tubers cause the primary sources of infection in next season. The cultural practices will also helpful in reducing inoculum load and managing the disease. The host resistance is best option for management of this disease. However, due to very divers’ virulence nature of P. infestans; the resistance of the varieties is wiped out within a decade. Several fungicides including contact, systemic and translaminar have been evaluated from time to time; however, the pathogen has shown a remarkable capacity for change with respect to host genotype and fungicides. Nowadays biological control is gaining importance due to its eco-friendly in nature.