WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — Crop protection specialists are urging growers to stay ahead of white mold as the disease creates concerns for both potato and soybean crops.
Conditions in the Pacific Northwest favor white mold in potatoes, making early disease management increasingly important. BASF Product Manager Erick Garcia says the right tools can help growers stay ahead of disease pressure.
“This is a tool that was built specifically to combat diseases in potatoes, such as white mold, early blight, brown spot, or other diseases. We launched this brand, Endura Pro, last year. So we’re going into our second year here in 2026 and excited about this new innovation for potato growers, not only in the PNW, but across the nation, right?”
White mold can also create long-term challenges for soybean growers. BASF’s Ken Deibert says the disease can persist in fields from year to year, particularly where soybeans or other susceptible crops have been grown.
“It’s definitely a very aggressive disease. Certainly a disease we all want to keep our minds on in soybean growing areas, and certainly it tends to affect the soybean crop from canopy closure on. Once you’ve had a history of white mold in that field, whether it’s from growing soybeans or crops like dry edible beans, canola, sunflowers, etc. It usually persists as a problem in future years.”
For soybean growers, timing matters most. Deibert says the management window for white mold is only about two to three weeks.
