Idaho Tries To Slow Potato Blight However, Experts Believe Fungus May Be In Idaho To Stay

In response to this year’s late blight outbreak in the nation’s top potato producing state, the Idaho Department of Agriculture has adopted rules to slow its spread.

But if other states are any indication, the blight could be here to stay.

The fungus first appeared in southwestern Idaho this summer, then advanced to the Twin Falls area. Only eastern Idaho has escaped so far.

To fight it off, farmers may spend up to $45 an acre for fungicide application. It is expensive, but for growers allotting as much as $1,500 per acre to raise a crop, the alternative is fatal.

“We cannot rely only on Mother Nature and fungicides to eliminate the problem in 1996 and succeeding years,” Idaho Agriculture Director John Hatch said in a letter sent last week to the state potato industry. A set of rules were enacted Sept. 15.

The movement of potatoes into and around Idaho will be controlled by certification and inspections. Idaho growers in blight-free areas must submit a written plan for cull pile management if they receive potatoes from infested zones.

If violations are not addressed, the state can take care of the problem and bill the grower or person responsible. Also, if someone is found liable for spreading blight through poor management, they can be fined by the state and face a civil lawsuit.

However, based on experiences in other North American potato growing regions - from Maine to North Dakota to Alberta to Washington - the disease is likely here to stay. As a newcomer to the fraternity, though, Idaho can borrow knowledge already gained elsewhere.

Late blight has plagued Columbia Basin growers for more than a decade. With an arid climate and irrigation, Washington and Oregon adjusted to late blight in an environment like southern Idaho.

Columbia Basin growers regularly apply fungicides fighting the disease, said Gary Pelter, a Washington State University Extension specialist.

“This is probably the worst late blight year we’ve ever had here,” Pelter said. “For many growers the profit is gone.”