Europe’s Potatoes Under Pressure: Fighting Blight with Smarter Pest Management
Across Europe, the potato is more than just a crop – it’s a cornerstone of culinary tradition, rural economies, and agricultural heritage. Whether it’s turned into Belgium’s iconic frites, Spain’s tortilla de patatas, or a creamy mash in Ireland, the potato is a staple that unites diverse cultures and farming systems. But behind its familiar presence lies a persistent and evolving threat: potato blight.
First notorious for its devastating role in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, blight remains one of the most destructive plant diseases in the world. Today, it is increasingly challenging to control as new, aggressive strains emerge and climate patterns shift, altering the timing and intensity of disease outbreaks. As European farmers work to reduce chemical pesticide use and meet sustainability targets, new approaches are needed to protect potatoes without compromising productivity.
A Rich Tapestry of European Potato Varieties
Europe’s potato landscape is surprisingly diverse. Countries grow a wide range of cultivars, each with distinct characteristics suited to local tastes, soils, and climates. In the UK, Maris Piper is a popular choice, prized for its fluffy texture that makes the perfect roast potato or chip. In Ireland, however, Rooster takes the lead – this red-skinned, yellow-fleshed variety was developed by Teagasc and the IPM Potato Group and has become the nation’s favorite since its release in 1991 (Irish Potato Federation). Charlotte, favored in France and Belgium, is known for its firm, waxy texture that holds up well in salads. Bintje, once dominant across Western Europe, is still appreciated for its culinary versatility, though its popularity has declined in recent years due to its high susceptibility to disease, one being blight.
Other varieties such as Agria, Yukon Gold, and Kipfler further enrich the continent’s potato biodiversity, offering farmers and consumers an array of textures, flavors, and cooking properties. This diversity is a strength in terms of dietary and genetic resilience, but it also brings unique challenges – particularly when it comes to managing pests and diseases, which affect different varieties in different ways.
Blight: A Persistent and Adaptive Threat
The most pressing of blight threats is late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans. This highly destructive pathogen thrives in cool, humid environments and spreads rapidly through both foliage and tubers. Once it takes hold, it causes blackened lesions and tissue rot that can destroy a crop in a matter of days.
Although blight is centuries old, it is far from a solved problem. In fact, the disease is evolving, with new genotypes like 13_A2 and EU_36 emerging in recent years that exhibit resistance to several commonly used fungicides. This means that farmers often have to spray more frequently – sometimes as many as 10 to 15 times per growing season – to keep the disease under control. This not only drives up production costs but also raises serious concerns about environmental and human health.
Another component to take into consideration when managing late blight, is the economic burden. . Studies estimate that control measures and yield losses in Europe alone cost over €1 billion annually making this a substantial financial burden in potato production. With the added pressure of climate change extending the length of the blight season, many farmers are finding it harder than ever to keep their potatoes safe.
Integrated Pest Management: A Smarter Way Forward
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, offers a more sustainable solution. Rather than relying on any one method, IPM brings together a toolbox of techniques – biological, cultural, mechanical, and chemical – used in combination and tailored to local conditions. The idea is to minimize the need for pesticides while still effectively managing pests and diseases.
In potato production, IPM can involve everything from using blight-resistant or tolerant varieties to rotating crops to prevent the buildup of soilborne pathogens. Farmers may also rely on disease forecasting models such as myFIELD BlightCAST or EuroBlight, which use weather data to predict blight outbreaks and help time fungicide applications more precisely. On the biological side, options include deploying natural enemies of pests – such as parasitic wasps for aphids – or applying microbial biopesticides like Bacillus subtilis to suppress disease.
What sets IPM apart is its focus on prevention and precision. Instead of treating a whole field out of caution, farmers are encouraged to monitor their crops closely and intervene only when necessary. This approach not only reduces chemical input and production costs, but also helps delay the development of resistance among pest populations.
IPMorama’s Role in Reinventing Pest Management
The IPMorama project is working to mainstream IPM strategies across Europe, including for staple crops like potatoes. By coordinating research trials, knowledge exchange, and outreach efforts, the project helps farmers adopt tailored, science-based approaches to pest and disease management.
In the case of potatoes, IPMorama supports on-the-ground testing of IPM practices in different European regions, from intensive commercial farms to smallholder and organic operations. These trials look not only at effectiveness, but also at how IPM practices affect cost, labor, and environmental outcomes. Farmers are involved throughout the process, contributing their knowledge and providing feedback to ensure that the solutions developed are both innovative and practical.
IPMorama also works to close the gap between research and practice. The project develops decision-support tools that bring together pest forecasts, agronomic data, and regional economic conditions, enabling farmers to make informed decisions quickly. Importantly, it also facilitates knowledge sharing between countries, farming communities, and institutions, accelerating the spread of best practices across the EU.
Looking Ahead: Resilient Potatoes for a Resilient Europe
As Europe moves toward greener agriculture under the Farm to Fork Strategy, which aims to reduce pesticide use by 50% by 2030, crops like potatoes will play a pivotal role. They are not only a dietary staple, but also a litmus test for how well we can protect our food systems in a changing climate.
Potato blight may be a formidable foe, but with the right tools and a collaborative approach, it is not unbeatable. The work being done through IPMorama offers a glimpse of what the future could look like – where farmers use cutting-edge science to preserve age-old crops, where innovation is grounded in ecological principles, and where food security doesn’t come at the cost of environmental health.
By embracing IPM and supporting projects like IPMorama, Europe can continue to enjoy the diversity of its potatoes – crispy, creamy, golden, and safe – from field to fork.