Silver scurf is considered primarily a seed-borne disease. After planting of infected seed pieces, sporulation can be seen on the seed pieces one week after planting, and can be recovered from soil surrounding the seed piece two weeks post-plant. Infection of new progeny tubers can occur as early as nine weeks after planting. Low levels of conidia may persist in the soil form one season to the next, but prolonged soil survival has not been demonstrated. Silver scurf spreads in storage, resulting in an increase in both disease incidence and severity.
Sporulation is reduced somewhat by cooler temperatures.
Spores are dislodged and released into the storage atmosphere when tubers are moved or handled for grading or shipping, and move throughout the piled potatoes via the air handling system. These conidia are infectious and sporulate, but only at the edge of the lesion. Seed tubers are infected when seed is moved from the seed house, H. solani spores are dislodged into the air and infect the unprotected seed tubers. Seed treatment fungicides are effective for limiting silver scurf at harvest. Recommended seed treatments include mancozeb, TOPS-MZ and Maxim.