Potato is a very important high value crop in Denmark, with an annual export value of over 2 billion DKr. The area with starch potato in Denmark has increased over the last five years from appr. 21.000 ha in 2012 to 35.000 ha in 2019. There are invested approximately a billion in improvement of existing and the establishment of new production facilities.

Attacks of more aggressive and fungicide resistant strains of Phytophthora infestans (causing late blight) and Alternaria spp. (causing early blight) are, however, an increasing problem, and approximately 130 million a year is spend for the prevention and control of these two diseases.

The purpose of the project is to develop the basis for reducing the use of pesticides in potatoes by up to 30%. It must help to ensure a long-term, sustainable and competitive potato sector in Denmark.

The project is a collaboration between KMC, AKV Langholdt, BJ-AGRO, SAGRO, SEGES, Aarhus University, AgroIntelli and FieldSense. The project runs from 1 Jan 2019 to 31 Dec 2021. The total budget is 18 Mill Dkr = 2,4 mill €