Blight attacks 500 hectares of potato farms in Plateau – Commissioner

The Plateau State Commissioner for Agriculture, Steven Barko, on Friday said 500 hectares of Irish potato farms had been attacked by blight.
Barko made this known during a news conference in Jos.
The commissioner said farmers in the state cultivated 250,000 hectares of potatoes annually and decried the outbreak of the blight, which had ravaged 500 hectares so far.
Barko said the crop was being produced in nine local government areas of the state but that Bokkos Local Government Area was mostly affected.
He said: “Already, 500 hectares have been identified to have been affected by the disease and if not urgently addressed, has the potential to spread.
“Plateau is a major producer of Irish potatoes in Nigeria.
“Potato is a crop that everybody wants to have on his breakfast table.
“It is an economic crop.
“We are threatened by this disease because it can spread very fast and thrives best in humid and wet environment.”
Barko added that the farms were being attacked at the tuberisation period, which was the worst time for the crop to be attacked.
According to him, the disease usually dries up the leaves of the crop, making it difficult for photosynthesis to take place.
He said: “If we don’t intervene now and also seek help from those that can help us, we may have a serious problem in our hands.
“We have written to National Roots Crops Research Institute, Vom and we believe that the Federal Government through the NCRCRI would assist us.
“We are putting on some early intervention.
“We have bought about 200kg fungicide to fumigate the place that has been affected.
“If it affects up to 70 per cent of the crop, there is virtually nothing you can do about it.”
Barko said the Commissioner for Urban Development, Solomon Maren, had assisted the ministry with 50kg of fungicide to fumigate some farms.
He appealed to farmers in other local government areas to take precautionary measures like fumigating their farms.
Dr. Daniel Lenka of NRCRI, who led other scientists to some of the farms, said the possible causes of the disease included change in pattern of rainfall and temperature as result of global warming.
“Poor sanitation of seeds in storage and field management, inter-cropping of potato with other crops, lack of resistant or late blight tolerant varieties and non-application of fungicides could also be the cause,” Lenka said.
Lenka advised that all potato farms in Bokkos be sprayed immediately with broad spectrum fungicide at the rate of 100g in 20 litres of water twice weekly.
He advised: “State and local governments, as a matter of urgency, should provide aerial spraying with fungicide, at least weekly, in order to contain the epidemic.”