The best tool available to commercial growers to control disease is to use certified classes of seed. Producers also need to be concerned about seed piece decay, early blight, and storage diseases like soft rot and dry rot. Bacterial ring rot, which has nearly disappeared in Alberta, will always be a major concern because it is highly contagious and destructive if left uncontrolled. All commercial potato fields in Alberta are inspected for ring rot every year, and for this reason all potato growers with 5 acres, or more, are required to be licensed by the Potato Growers of Alberta. A rotation with a minimum of three other crops between potatoes is required to sustain potato production over a long period.
Shorter rotations result in a steady increase in soil-borne diseases.
Insects such as the Colorado potato beetle can completely defoliate a potato crop if left unchecked. Wireworms, which are ever present in newly broken pasture land, cause unsightly tunnels in tubers which can result in losses on the grading line and reduction in grade if damage is severe. Seed growers need to control aphids to prevent the spread of viruses that may cause loss of certification. Weed control in potatoes is not normally a problem because the combination of cultivation and herbicides is usually effective. However, a few weeds left unchecked in the spring may become an unmanageable problem by fall.