Producing high-quality, marketable potatoes is challenging through every stage, from planting to storage.

Silver scurf is a pathogen that causes skin defects in potatoes during storage. Jim Pitreau, operations manager for Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, Maine, noticed that once silver scurf would set in, it would move quickly through the crop and was visually detractive to the potato.

Needing a solution to improve marketability, Pitreau turned to Jonathan Stevens, sales representative for Syngenta, and Kiran Shetty, Ph.D., technical development lead for Syngenta. In the following Spud Doctor video, see how Syngenta partnered with Pitreau and Green Thumb Farms to design a program that reduced silver scurf and increased quality.

Growers in need of a disease management program for silver scurf and other early-season potato diseases should consider the following:

• Start with a proper seed treatment. Silver scurf is a seed-borne fungus, and using a quality seed treatment helps prevent the fungus from spreading in early stages of growth. CruiserMaxx^® Vibrance^® Potato seed treatment can help improve seed germination and protect against early-season diseases like silver scurf.
• Apply a strong soil treatment. It is important to treat your soil to prevent the fungus from remaining in the soil and infecting tubers. Elatus^® fungicide, provides growers with the power of 2 active ingredients to double down on defense against soil-borne diseases.
• Extending Protection as Tubers Develop: Early infections of the developing tubers in the soil takes place by movement of the spores generated from the seed or within the soil profile. To prevent this particular stage of the infection Amistar Top^® is applied to the young plants prior to row closure.
• Prevent storage growth. Storage conditions play a large part in the spread of silver scurf, as the fungus thrives in cool, damp conditions. Stadium^® fungicide can help preserve the quality of your potatoes during storage by providing a barrier against the spread of harmful storage diseases.

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