Tools and resources to support potato disease management decisions across the Pacific Northwest and advance field pathology and epidemiology.
Tools developed by our team
- MSE FindR. A Shiny app that estimates residual variance (mean square error) from published trials that report only treatment means and post-hoc letter groupings, for use in meta-analysis.
- Columbia Basin Drought Monitor. Weekly drought status for six central Washington counties that account for most of the state’s potato acreage, summarized from U.S. Drought Monitor county data. Updated each Thursday.
Other tools available to WA potato growers
Disease forecasting and in-season alerts
- WSU Potato Alerts. Weekly in-season pest and disease alerts for Columbia Basin potato production. Subscribe or read the alert archive.
- WSU Potato Decision Aid System. Late blight and early blight risk models and spray-timing information for Pacific Northwest potatoes, based on AgWeatherNet data.
- USABlight. National tracking of tomato and potato late blight, with outbreak maps and pathogen genotype reports.
Weather and evapotranspiration
- WSU AgWeatherNet. Washington’s network of automated weather stations, with data and degree-day tools used for irrigation, frost, and disease-risk decisions.
Seasonal climate, ENSO, and drought
- NOAA ENSO (El Niño / La Niña) Status. The Climate Prediction Center’s El Niño/Southern Oscillation diagnostic discussion and advisory.
- NWS Climate Prediction Center Outlooks. Temperature and precipitation outlooks from 6 to 10 day and 8 to 14 day through monthly and seasonal.
- U.S. Drought Monitor. Weekly, county-level drought classification for the United States. Source data for the Columbia Basin Drought Monitor.
Management references
- Northwest Potato Research Consortium. Grower-funded research from the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho potato commissions, with libraries on potato diseases, insects, and nematodes, plus research reports and pest management guidance.
- PNW Plant Disease Management Handbook. Pacific Northwest reference for identifying and managing plant diseases, including potato.
- PNW Insect Management Handbook. Pacific Northwest reference for identifying and managing insect pests. Companion to the disease handbook.
- FRAC Fungicide Code List. Fungicide Resistance Action Committee mode-of-action codes, used to rotate chemistries and manage fungicide resistance.