In potato cultivation, targeted crop protection measures play a central role in securing yield and quality. In addition to combating diseases like late blight, weed and pest control are significant challenges.

Potatoes cover the soil relatively late, allowing weeds like white goosefoot, knotweed, or cleavers to compete with the crops for a long time. An effective treatment strategy combines pre-emergence and post-emergence measures. What does the current strategy look like?

Herbicides such as Bandur (active ingredient: aclonifen) and Centium 36 CS (active ingredient: clomazone) should be applied at least a week before potato shoots emerge. These products combat a wide variety of weeds but require moist soil to be effective.

The Colorado potato beetle is a significant pest. Monitoring begins in May. If larvae are visible, targeted control measures should be implemented. Biological insecticides like spinosad or azadirachtin are more environmentally friendly, while severe infestations may require chemical agents such as lambda-cyhalothrin or thiacloprid.

The Colorado potato beetle is a significant pest. Monitoring begins in May. If larvae are visible, targeted control measures should be implemented. Biological insecticides like spinosad or azadirachtin are more environmentally friendly, while severe infestations may require chemical agents such as lambda-cyhalothrin or thiacloprid.

Combating fungal diseases is essential for maintaining healthy potato crops. In addition to late blight (Phytophthora infestans), other fungal infections such as Alternaria (early blight), Rhizoctonia solani (black scurf), and Colletotrichum coccodes (black dot) pose threats.

Fungicide treatments should be adapted to infection pressure and weather conditions. Rotating active ingredient classes early, for instance, from strobilurins to carboxamides, helps prevent resistance. Additionally, soil and plant-strengthening measures, such as adequate lime application, contribute to disease prevention.

Overusing specific active ingredients increases the risk of resistance development. Targeted active ingredient rotation and the integration of agronomic measures ensure long-term effective crop protection solutions.

Weed and pest control in potato cultivation requires precise adaptation of crop protection measures to site conditions and crop characteristics. With an integrated approach, yield and quality can be sustainably secured. Because…

The “return” to old (often outdated) solutions is often just a stopgap measure or no solution at all. This is especially true when previously very efficient methods or technologies, such as chemical crop protection, are no longer fully available. Therefore, entirely new solutions must be sought and tailored to the required applications.

With electrophysical plant control, crop.zone introduces a new mechanism for broad application. This approach can help address issues such as resistance problems or the strong weather dependency of other methods, offering a more reliable and sustainable solution.