Farmers urged to avoid mixed farming to curb potato disease

The Director of Agricultural Services, Plateau State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Daniel Diyelong, has advised potato farmers against mixed cropping in order to curb blight disease in Irish potato. Diyelong said recently in Jos that farmers should plant only one crop on a particular piece of land to avoid the fungal disease that destroys Irish […]

The Director of Agricultural Services, Plateau State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Daniel Diyelong, has advised potato farmers against mixed cropping in order to curb blight disease in Irish potato.
Diyelong said recently in Jos that farmers should plant only one crop on a particular piece of land to avoid the fungal disease that destroys Irish potatoes.
He explained that when other crops are planted alongside potatoes in one particular piece of land, high humidity sets in which results in the disease and the massive spread of it.
He advised potato farmers to engage in dry season farming, because during that period, humidity tends to be low compared to the wet season.
He appealed to farmers to take precautionary measures, especially by applying fungicides on their farms, so as to stay in business, saying the potato industry was a key segment of the economy.