Jump Start Your Potato Crop with a Seed Treatment

Producing a potato crop with high quality and yield potential requires, among other things, planting healthy seed in optimal soil conditions. That’s a great start, yet it’s no guarantee of success given the wide-ranging challenges growers face each year from climate conditions, disease pressures, labor shortages, rising production costs and more.

Early-season crop management is crucial to battling many threats and establishing plant health.
Although potatoes are affected primarily by bacterial rots, they are also susceptible to fungal diseases, such as dry rot caused by Fusarium, silver scurf from Helminthosporium and black scurf from Rhizoctonia. These diseases can infect seedlings, leading to weakened roots, stolon and stem decay and stunted plant growth.

Potato dry rot, for example, is a devastating fungal disease worldwide. According to Michigan State University researchers, soil- and seedborne inoculum can affect the plants in the field; however, more severe damage occurs during storage, potentially infecting seed pieces for the next planting season. During their research, they found that although dry rot inhibits crop stand development and can cause losses up to 25%, infection as high as 60% can occur during storage.¹

To reduce risk and jump start your success in a new growing season, it’s important to implement a management plan that targets both insects and diseases at planting. Utilizing a strong seed treatment is recommended to protect against these potentially devastating seedborne diseases, as well as early-season insects, such as Colorado potato beetle, aphids, potato leaf hopper and potato psyllid.

Using a quality seed treatment helps prevent fungi spreading in early stages of potato plant growth. You can start strong and maximize potential yield and quality by protecting potato seeds from the moment they are in the ground. Starting with a broad-spectrum fungicide and robust neonicotinoid seed treatment, like CruiserMaxx^® Vibrance^® Potato or CruiserMaxx Potato Extreme, offers thorough protection against damage from early-season insects and soil- and seedborne diseases.

CruiserMaxx Vibrance Potato:

• Features sedaxane, fludioxonil and difenoconazole fungicides with thiamethoxam insecticide in a convenient formulation effective at a single use rate.
• Delivers comprehensive control of Rhizoctonia, Helminthosporium and Fusarium, in addition to a multitude of below- and above-ground pests.
• Improves stand establishment and protects young roots and stolons.
• Aids in wound healing and suberization.
• Available in an efficient and convenient liquid formulation with low dust off, without the need for additional polymers or additives.
• Exhibits optimized handling and application characteristics (in all temperatures and treating conditions).

CruiserMaxx Potato Extreme:

• Created for convenience – with two fungicides (fludioxonil and difenoconazole) for controlling seedborne diseases, plus thiamethoxam insecticide that delivers reliable insect control, this all-in-one liquid formula helps get potato crops off to a great start.
• Delivers effective protection against key seedborne diseases, including strains of Fusarium resistant to fludioxonil.
• When applied according to label directions, it results in less chemical exposure and less mess than dust alternatives, so you can spend less time cleaning up and more time focusing on building your bottom line.

Watch as three Idaho potato farmers share why they recommend CruiserMaxx Potato Extreme seed treatment:

Start Strong for Best Results

Enhancing germination, increasing vigor and improving stand establishment are the keys to minimizing risk and optimizing marketable yield and quality potential. Getting potato crops off to a strong, healthy start can lead to better tuber distribution and greater uniformity at harvest, both of which are important for marketability and profit potential.

To learn more about potato seed treatment options, talk with your local Syngenta representative or visit this page.

¹Wharton P, Hammerschmidt R, Kirk W. Fusarium dry rot. Michigan potato diseases series. Michigan: Michigan State University; 2007. pp. 531–532.