White mold is one of several important foliar diseases that can affect potato production by causing reductions in tuber yield and increases in disease management costs. This presentation will help potato growers and field managers in potato production regions understand how the fungus that causes white mold colonizes host substrates to initiate disease, infects healthy potato foliage, and is most efficiently managed. Topics include environmental and host factors that affect disease spread and progression, as well as the functions of sclerotia in overwintering of the pathogen, of apothecia and ascospores in disease spread, and of senescent host tissue for initial infection and how they all relate to disease management. By the end of the presentation, viewers will know more about the epidemiology of white mold and will be well equipped to manage the disease.
