The amount of blight affecting tubers in stores is not as bad as many growers feared earlier in the year, latest reports suggest. “I’ve had discussions with a number of agronomists who are surprised by how little blight they’ve seen in stores,” the British Potato Council‘s Rob Clayton says.

“Some newer chemistry has done a very good job and some problems may have simply rotted away before crops went into store. Where it’s been dry, it’s also possible that haulm destruction was achieved more effectively before spores were washed down into the soil.”

But he urges growers not to get complacent and remain vigilant for diseases developing. “Blight is still there and problems could show themselves over the next 3-4 weeks. It’s a question of priorities if you’ve got a lot of greening and cracks, then blight is the lesser of three evils at the moment.”