b'options and may also plant a biannual option where it would come back in the spring, to help with spring cover soil coverage. Ridding Fields of Black DotWhen Zack Frederick, the applied potato research agronomistTheres a potential of during dry for MHPEC Inc. was completing his doctoral studies at thedays that this groundwater becomes Washington State University under Dennis Johnson, one of the projects he was involved with was looking into if extending cropavailable to potato plants and its rotations could rid fields of black dot. through upward rise or capillary rise If you increase the rotation of on potatoes in terms of number of years, potentially from six to eight years, (Johnson)it becomes available to plants to fulfill thought the need for chemical control could be reduced orsome irrigation deficiency. potentially eliminated, Frederick explains at the field day. Adding there should be less disease pressure from black dotHAIDER ABBASnoticed in the field.While extending a crop rotation to eight years generally isnt feasible, Frederick did see opportunity to experiment with vine control in fields. For black dot to build up in the soil it must have the vines return to the soil to refresh itself. If the vines arent there for this to happen, then the black dot presence should betheory is that this will also work for other fungal pathogens such much weaker in another three years. as early blight and verticillium that need the vine to get back into If we can fake a longer rotation by preventing the return ofthe soil.the fresh stuff, the old stuff will be getting progressively olderHarvest is usually quite busy and often quite shortened and and weaker as time goes on. And we might be able to achievetime if we have foul weather, for example. So, adding more to the something more like that eight-year rotation by just preventingwork list and harvest is a deeply unpopular subject, Frederick new inoculum from returning to the soil, Frederick explains. says. Once we have an idea of whether it works, I will probably To do this, the CMCDC team are physically removing the vinesget more traction from the community on how to actually by hand from the plot at Carberry which black dot in it. Theremove the vines from the field. 46SPUDSMART.COM Fall 2022'