Europa: Potato blight results in €4m spray bill for growers
According to new paper, at least 27 species of blight, or ’Phytophthora’ are now found across Ireland, with invasions on the rise in line with increasing globalisation and international trade in plants, reports the Irish Independent.
The increased threat to potatoes and other crops has resulted in higher bills for farmers, agricultural consultant, Richard Hackett said.
"Potato blight now would be a more difficult beast to control than 15 years ago because there’s more strains of it, and some are more difficult to eradicate," he said.
"Farmers have been using more fungicide. They’re spending more than they did a few years ago because the strains are more difficult to control, and older, cheaper products are being withdrawn, often for good reason.
Potatoes are currently planted on some 8,000 hectares of land, mostly across Dublin, Meath and Louth. The cost of spraying with fungicides is some €500/ha, meaning the annual bill is €4m. Failure to spray can result in the loss of the entire crop.
The paper, Diversity and econoloy of Phytophthora species on the island of Ireland, by Richard O’Hanlon, Alistair R McCracken and Louise R Cooke, was published in the Royal Irish Academy journal Biology and Environment. It says that the various strains can affect not just potatoes, but apples, raspberry plants, strawberries and trees.
Source: independent.ie
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/165702/Ireland-Potato-blight-results-in-%E2%82%AC4m-spray-bill-for-growers
