Norway: Late Blight Spraying Has Doubled in a Decade, NIBIO Says
About 98% of Norway’s commercial potato area is sprayed against late blight, up to 16 times a season, as resistance and the EU_41 strain spread, NIBIO says.
Late blight remains the most important potato disease in Norway, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) said in April as it marked 150 years of research on the disease. About 98% of the commercial potato area is sprayed, up to 16 times a season, and the amount of spraying has doubled in ten years.
NIBIO reports that fungicide resistance has been detected in Norway and that the aggressive EU_41 strain of Phytophthora infestans is now established.
Breeding is part of the response. Graminor, Norway’s plant breeding company, tests potato varieties for late blight resistance on behalf of the state, and in February NIBIO, Graminor, NMBU and partners reported promising results for a blight-resistant potato developed with CRISPR gene editing.
Genetic resources are being secured as well. In January Norway set up three national clone banks; the National Potato Clone Bank at NIBIO in Ås holds 160 unique potato varieties, with the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre responsible for their conservation.
Graminor’s recent table varieties include Undset, on the market since 2024, and Eir, a yellow potato with good storage, and the blue variety Knallfjong, both announced in May 2025.
Sources: NIBIO, 28 Apr 2026; NIBIO, 30 Jan 2026; potet.no, 5 Feb 2026; Graminor (NTB), 14 May 2025
