Control measures

The following preventive control measures can be implemented to limit gangrene:

• good farm hygiene (cleaning and disinfection of buildings and equipment, destruction of waste, etc.);
• choose, if available, tolerant cultivars;
• harvest within 3 to 4 weeks of haulm destruction when tuber skin is sufficiently mature;
• minimise tuber wounds at harvest and during handling operations (grading etc.);
• eliminate infected tubers;
• prior to storage, allow time and adequate conditions (temperature and ventilation) to favour the healing of tuber surface and wounds caused by handling;
• use appropriate long term storage conditions;
• in the case of seed production only, chemical fungicides can be applied after harvesting on cleaned (‘soil-free’) tubers.