One positive effect of Brexit could be a reappraisal of the rules on abstraction licencing. While that will come as welcome news for potato growers in the driest parts of the country, it will not help them much in the short term. After a month or more without rain, some unirrigated crops are suffering and even farmers with winter storage reservoirs are wondering if they will have enough water to see them through the rest of the season.
The development of fluazinam-resistant blight strains has placed further pressure on spray programmes. It has been estimated that growers spend £20m each year on fungicides in an attempt to keep blight at bay.
Dr Sue Cowgill, senior scientist at AHDB says late blight is very much in the spotlight at the moment because both the pathogen and the availability of control measures have changed. The push to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) is across the board, she adds, with growers keen to adopt new approaches.
