Early blight (EB) is a fungus-caused potato disease caused by Alternaria solani. It may be found everywhere potatoes are cultivated. The disease predominantly affects the leaves and stems, but given good weather circumstances, and if left unchecked, it can cause significant defoliation and increase the likelihood of tuber infection. Infected plants tend to collapse from the weight of the fruits, which fall off before they mature. Symptoms: Early Blight causes several problems for farmers who grow potatoes. First, the disease can reduce the quality and marketability of their potatoes. Second, it can decrease the yield of each plant extremely. Third, early blight can enter healthy potatoes through cuts or other means and begin growing inside the potato causing it to rot away before it reaches maturity. This is called "sprouting." Finally, early blight can spread to other crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants when farmers fail to control the disease on their potato fields. Control measures include cleaning up debris around plants to provide good growing conditions, controlling potato beetles if they are damaging your crops, and using pesticides if necessary. However, avoiding these practices would limit your options for controlling the disease. Pesticides used to control early blight include chlorothalonil, mancozeb, and metalaxyl. These chemicals should not be used on potatoes during growth stages 4-8 since they may slow down plant development.