Protecting tubers as Late blight pressures are growing!
Posted on 07 July 2025
Effective control of key potato diseases is essential at this time of year to support crop growth, protect yields, and maintain tuber quality. Avoiding crop stress also reduces disease impact, so good crop management, appropriate fertiliser applications and irrigation best practice all help.
With late blight pressure increasing, growers should remain vigilant for symptoms of the disease. Caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, late blight remains the most serious disease threat to UK potato crops.
The disease can infect foliage, stems, and tubers, and spreads rapidly under mild, humid conditions. Visible leaf symptoms, typically irregular dark spots, can develop within just a few days of infection.
Growers are advised to implement robust blight control strategies and pay close attention to protecting tubers from the high risk of infective blight spores. Keeping up a strong programme with different actives to maintain blight-free foliage is now vital for protecting tubers and yields, especially in crops where planting was later this season, which may be more vulnerable in the coming weeks.
Clayton Linaxo™ – Performance fungicide targeting cost-effective blight control.
Clayton Linaxo™ formulation containing 600 g/kg cymoxanil is ideal for tank-mixing with other blight actives and can be applied at 0.15 kg/ha for up to a maximum of 8 treatments at 7 day intervals, with the latest time of application 1 day before harvest.
To learn more about this product, please click here.
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Need help protecting your potato crops?
For further information on products in this update and our full product range, Get in touch with our Technical Team:
Will Ridgwell – Commercial Manager – will@claytonpp.com
Martyn Rogers – Product Development Manager – martyn@claytonpp.com
Information in this update does not constitute a recommendation; it is for guidance only. Detailed information about our products can be found on our website. Brand names used in this update are trademarks of Clayton Plant Protection. Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use.