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Syngenta Potato Manager, Andrew Curtis, said: "In the past growers have relied on weather records indicating Smith Periods when blight risk had already occurred. That was after the event, and when it was too late to make preventative applications. 

"Now we have the technology and capability to forecast when conditions conducive to blight are likely to occur, and give growers the chance to take positive action to minimise the risk of infection. BlightCast has proven to be extremely valuable and reliable over the past three years."

He reported that BlightCast has been activated earlier this year to aide spray timing and product selection right from the start of the season. He pointed out that whilst conditions remain cool during the early stages of establishment, there is a greater risk of infection from bight zoospores and their motility through soil moisture, where growers and agronomists should be focusing initial TO applications on Shirlan.

Once crops are growing through the rapid canopy development phase, he advocates the use of Revus when BlightCast indicates risk of disease attack. The positive movement of the active across the expanding leaf area offers highly effective protection against infection, which makes Revus the leading foliar blight fungicide in the Euroblight listings. 

Positive feedback on BlightCast from growers has highlighted how using the forecasting system in conjunction with information of spray window opportunities, can help with spray scheduling ahead of disease risk periods. "If BlightCast foresees disease risk rising, but the Spray Window Forecast indicates application is going to be difficult, it may be better to get the necessary protection on early," advised Mr Curtis. "Fortunately the ease-of-use and rapid rainfastness of Revus, along with the use of Syngenta low-drift nozzle technology, can help growers make timely applications in a difficult season."

BlightCast is free to all potato growers and agronomists registered on the Syngenta website. The local forecasts are defined by postcode, enabling those with crops across a wide geographical area to easily keep a track of conditions and risks. To register, log on to www.syngenta-crop.co.uk        

Early focus to stop hot spot infection
Andrew Curtis believes it is essential that growers are alert to the risk of blight from first emergence, with no room for complacency.  "Although early infection may be contained or supressed by subsequent blight spray applications, if there is any interruption in protection or conditions turn highly conducive to blight, there’s a real risk of a rapid outbreak that could prove devastating," he warned. "It is crucial to stop localised hot-spots developing."

Furthermore, he highlighted that trials have shown even a very low incidence of early foliar blight can result in relatively high levels of tuber infection at harvest. "This really emphasises the importance of effective blight control, and reinforces the use of robust programmes with reliable products from the earliest applications. BlightCast is an essential tool to help growers and agronomists make proactive decisions on product choice and timing to get the best possible results."