Spudchat is back for a new season! In this episode, Ryan talks with Dr. Julie Pasche of North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND about Alternaria, commonly known as early blight and brown spot diseases. They discuss the differences between these pathogens and the diseases they cause, discuss differences in populations and fungicide resistance across the continent, and discuss management strategies. They finish with a chat about black dot, a growing disease of importance in many regions.

This week on SpudChat, Ryan chats with Darin Gibson with Gaia Consulting in Manitoba. Darin and his wife Debbie do contract potato research, variety evaluation, potato breeding, and sugar testing services in Manitoba, and both are well-known in the MB potato industry and beyond.

In this episode of Spudchat, Ryan talks with Chad Mooney, a potato farmer in Eastern Prince Edward Island about his journey back to the farm after time in the Canadian armed forces, how he is trying to use data from multiple sources to inform his decision making on the farm, and the multiple ways he is collecting that data, including the use of drone imagery. Chad also talks about using his DJI Agras drone for cover crop seeding and variable rate fertility management, as well as how he thinks the role of drones in potato farming will expand in the future.