‘Rubbery rot’ – A new potato disease found in North Dakota, Minnesota fields

The 2022 growing season has been mostly disease-free for potatoes, but farmers got a heads-up during a research session about a potentially damaging fungus that showed up in the Northern Plains this year.

As Ann Bailey reports for Agweek, the disease, called “rubbery rot,” was seen in North Dakota and Minnesota this summer and was found in Wisconsin in 2019, Gary Secor, North Dakota State University Extension plant pathologist told farmers at Northern Plains Potato Growers’ field day held Aug. 25, 2022, at Hoverson Farms near Larimore.

”It’s a new problem,” Secor said.

The fungal disease, caused by geotrichum candidum, results in tubers that are damp and feel rubbery when they are squeezed, similar to the way they do when potatoes are infected with pink rot. The potatoes with rubbery rot are inedible.

A source: https://www.potatonewstoday.com