Control measures

For potato crops intended for ware and processing, the use of certified seed potatoes and of resistant cultivars are the main ways of controlling infection due to viral diseases.

Production of certified seed potatoes is based on a range of measures limiting the infection by viral diseases during the growing period and involves:

• The use of certified seed tubers resulting from the multiplication of virus-free material in a certification scheme (including specific multiplication procedures such as in-vitro micropropagation, intensive field inspections and large-scale post-harvest testing);
• Production in a favourable environment: in isolated areas with low virus/vector pressure and in fields away from household gardens or away from fields used for the production of ware and processed potatoes;
• The early roguing of infected plants and eradication of all sources of inoculum, e.g. weeds and groundkeepers, to limit the spread of viruses within the field;
• The treatment with insecticides in order to reduce the number of aphids. Do not treat in very hot weather and check the quality of the application. An aphid warning system, based on field monitoring, can be used to evaluate aphid pressure and the need for insecticide application.

Additional control measures in seed potato production include:

• early planting;
• Early haulm destruction (by chemicals and/or mechanically) prior to maturity to limit the infection of daughter tubers by late flights of aphids.