| Abstract: | As the fourth important staple crop just after rice, maize and wheat, potato plays a crucial role in food security, poverty alleviation, cropping structure adjustment and transformation and updating of agriculture in China. The total harvested area and production of potato in China rank first in the world. However, the yield is much lower than the average level of the world due to a variety of diseases and insect pests of potato. With the support of National Key Research and Development Program of China, the major diseases and insect pests as well as pesticide use in potato production were surveyed in the six main production areas. Twenty-seven major potato pests were found in China. Six diseases (i.e. late blight, early blight, black scurf, Fusarium wilt, potato black leg and potato common scab) and six insect pests (i.e. wireworms, chafer grubs, aphids, twenty-eight spot lady beetle, potato tuber moth and thrips) were proposed to be listed as the most important management target in all the production areas. Moreover, more attention should be paid to prevent and control of bacterial wilt, ring rot and powdery scab. On the basis of census data, the average number of pesticide application and usage per unit area of potato in China were 17 and 40.03 kg·hm -2, which were higher than the national average level of 4.16 and 3.49 kg·hm -2. The control target of current registered pesticides did not cover many increasingly severe potato pests, such as bacterial wilt, common scab, powdery scab, and so on. Adoption and spread of integrated pest management (IPM) were proposed to be the most important strategy for reducing pesticide use and costs in potato production. To make scientific pest-management and pesticide reduction strategy, a potato pest early warning system should be developed based on rapid, sensitive and reliable detection and monitoring method. As host plant resistance is the economically feasible options for pests managing, it is important to improve potato resistant variety breeding and application, optimize variety layout. Development and promotion of high-efficient pesticide application technology and environmentally friendly alternatives to chemicals are the core drivers to realize chemical pesticide reduction. |
