It appears that Ontario potato farmers are going avoid being infected by a fungal disease that is sweeping across the northeast United States.
The same disease that caused the Irish potato famine has spread from Maine to Ohio destroying tomato and potato crops in what some crop experts are calling the worst outbreak in 20 years.
So far late blight as it is called, has had a minimal impact in Ontario.
Ministry of Agriculture potato specialist Doctor Eugenia Banks says outbreaks of late blight have been detected in three commercial fields near Grand Bend but the disease was successfully controlled.
She cool wet conditions contribute to the spread of the blight and while Ontario’s weather has been on the cool side, it has not been wet enough to help spread the disease.
The disease, spread by spores, can destroy a potato crop in just a few days under cool wet conditions.
Doctor Banks says last year there there was a problem with seed potato’s being infected with the blight but Ontario producers were able to apply effective crop protection to prevent the disease from taking off.