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1. Late blight occurrence and LB severity by major production area in the country. What crops were affected (tomato, potato, others)? Disease sources (seed, cull piles, volunteer plants, soil)?

Data for 2002²

Late blight is a serious problem that occurs occasionally when the weather conditions during the growing season are favorable.

The coldest summer was recorded in 50 years in the Basque country. Early June there were favorable conditions for the development of blight, but the crops were very young and no blight was recorded. Most of July was very cold and dry. Just at the end of July, climatic conditions were again favorable for blight. Blight was first recorded on 6 August.

2. LB impact (foliar damage, yield losses, tuber rot occurrences)?  

Data for 2002²

In the Basque country, August had three favorable periods for the development of blight. Crops had to be burnt early. A considerable number of growers reported problems with tuber blight in storage.

3. Fungicide use (amounts, types, etc.)?

Data for 2002²

The first treatment on a developing crop was carried out with metalaxyl. When the first blight symptoms appeared in August, translaminar products like cymoxanil and dimethomorph were applied. At the end of the growing season, copper was used.

4. Other LB control measures (resistant cultivars, forecast systems, none)?

There has been preliminary work on forecasting using Smith periods (based on temperature and humidity data) to predict the occurrence of potato late blight to start fungicide applications and PLANT-Plus, which uses additional information on the crop — variety, growth stage — and fungicide usage to provide the farmer with advice on when to spray (Marquinez, 1999).

5. LB control effectiveness (fungicide or host resistance failures)?

In 1992-1993, Spanish growers from several areas throughout the country reported the failure of systemic fungicides based on phenylamides to control LB (Marquines, 1996).

6. Pathogen strains (mating type, fungicide resistance, virulence factors, etc)?  

The A2 mating type has not been detected (Marquinez, 1996).

Isolates of Phytophthora infestans were tested for metalaxyl resistance: one of three were resistant in 1992, 45 of 60 (75%) in 1993 and 13 of 16 (81%) in 1994 (Marquinez, 1996).

7. Disease risks and/or major needs?

8. Any publications on late blight in the country?  

Marquinez R. 1999. Blight forecast and chemical control in Spain, experience in 1998. pp 164–172 in Schepers H and Bouma E (eds), Proceedings of the Workshop on the European network for development of an Integrated Control Strategy of potato late blight, 9–13 September 1998, Uppsala, Sweden, PAV-Special Report no. 5. Applied Research for Arable Farming and Field Production of Vegetables, Lelystad, Netherlands.

Marquinez, R. 1995.Resistance of Phytophthora infestans strains to phenylamides in Spain. . pp 137–141 in: Dowley L J, Bannon E, Cooke L R, Keane T and O’Sullivan E (eds), Phytopthora infestans 150, Proceedings of EAPR-Pathology Section, September 1995 Dublin, Ireland. Boole Press, Ltd., Temple Bar in conjunction with Teagasc, Carlow. Ireland.

9. Is tuber blight an increasing problem?

Occassionally. 

Comments, additions and corrections are very welcome. Please contact us at GILB(at)cgiar.org

[2] Schepers, H T A M. 2003. The development and control of Phytophthora infestans in Europe in 2002. pp 9–22 in: Westerdijk C E and Schepers H T A M (eds), Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop of an European Network for development of an Integrated Control Strategy of potato late blight, 2–6, October 2002 , Pozan, Poland, PPO-Special Report no. 9. Applied Plant Research BV, Wageningen, Netherlands. Information regarding the late blight epidemic in 2002 in Spain provided by R. Marquinez.