Plant protection for organically grown potatoes – a review

This paper reviews plant protection methods for organic cultivation of potatoes. Colorado potato beetle (CPB), the most important insect pest of potatoes worldwide, can be controlled by using the following techniques: organic soil management, lower fertilizer rates, treatment with spinosad, an insecticide based on chemical compounds found in the bacterial species Saccharopolyspora spinosa, no-till soil management, straw mulching and crop rotation. CPB has the ability to evolve resistance to a wide variety of chemicals. Variety choice has a significant effect on tuber losses caused by wireworms. Protection of potatoes against disease damage involves preventive measures, appropriate regulation strategies and optimum spraying techniques such as copper contact fungicides. Planting early in the cropping season and using short vegetation period varieties help to avoid early incidence and high disease severity from potato viruses. Plant growth promoting and biological control bacteria, such as Bacillus spp. and/...