Revolutionizing Potato Farming: Dynamic Innovations Reshaping Late Blight Control in Pakistan

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most extensively cultivated crops around the world, and Pakistan’s weather favor production and cultivation. Despite the ease of cultivating potatoes and the nominal labor supplies, Pakistan’s output of potatoes has not yet achieved a promising level when compared to nearby nations like India and Bangladesh. The crop's low production in Pakistan is caused by several biotic and abiotic stresses that instigated several pathogenic diseases such as early blight, bacterial wilt, viral infections, nematode infestations and late blight. Late blight disease is one of the most dreaded diseases of potatoes globally. It is caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans which is highly adaptive to fungicides. Several fungicides have been in use against this disease for a long time, however, it has developed a high degree of resistant strains to these fungicides due to their unselective use over time and ultimately may cause colossal losses to the crop. In response, scientists have developed different potato varieties like Setanta, Nicola, Cara and Acoustic that are highly resistant to late blight. Similarly, cultural methods are also employed to combat late blight disease. This article provides an overview of the implications of late blight disease in potato cultivation and explores various strategies to reduce yield losses brought on by this disease via the application of synthetic fungicides.