Effects of differential rates of nitrogen and phosphorus on early blight in potatoes

The Kennebec variety of potato was exposed toAlternana solani inoculum during the 1970 and 1971 seasons to determine the effects of differential rates of nitrogen and phosphorus on the incidence of early blight. Both high nitrogen and low phosphorus treatments significantly reduced the incidence of early blight and the combination of high nitrogen and low phosphorus consistently gave the lowest incidence of the disease during both years. The data suggest that this combination of nutrients may be related to early blight resistance in the plant by extending the period of meristematic activity permitting the plant to wall off infection. Yield data indicated that there was too great a yield difference between fertilization for optimum early blight control and fertilization for optimum yield. Therefore, in Maine, potatoes should be fertilized for optimum yield with a reasonable specific gravity, and early blight should be controlled by the application of fungicides and sanitation measures.