countrytalkandtips.myfreeforum.org

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Not had much experience with potato blight but two of my plants have keeled over. I thought the first signs was black blotches on the leaves but these plants just folded up their leaves and died. Any ideas as to what this problem might be and what to do about it please.

_________________
Leave not a trace.

quarryman · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 417 Location: Sligo

If they have flowered you can lift them. If not, cut the foliage back and leave them for another while. They should be fine.

If you do notice the start of blight, cut and remove the foliage and the tubers will continue to mature.

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Thanks for that quarryman. The earlies seem ok and I dont want to lift the maincrop yet but better that than loose the whole lot.

Cheers.
_________________
Leave not a trace.

admin · Site Admin Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 227

Here is an extract from an earlier thread on this topic . Basically there are 2 types of blight -- Early and Late . You can distinguish them by visual inspection . The Early form will knock back the tops but not harm the spuds beneath . It is the Late type which does all the damage .
HTH Wink

This one is specifically about the Early strain , c/w pictures http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/disease.cfm?RecordID=886
This one covers both Early and Late
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/veg/htms/bltpot.htm
_________________
we need more people to say something .

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Just an update. I lost me bottle and cut of all the tops. I did spray them with copper stuff but the blight was everywhere. Perhaps it would be better to spray by season than by the first signs of blight. We never got blight in the dry fens so there is clearly a lesson to be learnt here. I lifted a few of the main crop tubers and they look fine. Its a pity that what looked to be an exceptional crop had to be cut short . Ho Hum Crying or Very sad

How do you organic guys deel with blight?
_________________
Leave not a trace.

squirrel01 · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 90 Location: co. roscommon

buy from tescos Laughing

keithrawlins · Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 152 Location: banbridge

i cut of the tops if there is any blight and leave the tubers till the time they are due to lift they seem to grow onfor a bit without the tops

trufflehound · Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 42 Location: Carlow/Kilkenny

We had blight last year & as some have already suggested, we cut off the tops & left the potatoes in until we were ready to lift them. Majority were fine, although a lot had very small dots of soft creamy white on their surfaces - I presume this is the first stage of blight in the tuber?

Anyway it rubbed off - & certainly washed off - fine.

This year we didn't plant any spuds but still have plenty growing - presumably from the little ones left in from last year. They were quite late in coming up but have started to dig them in the past week & they are lovely!

quarryman · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 417 Location: Sligo

Well the blight struck. So I cut the foliage of all the plants. We only dug up a few spuds and they are fine.
You really do need to keep on top of things or you could loose the lot.

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

Interisting tips guys. Thanks Very Happy

. I am now loosing sleep over my outside toms. Come to think of it , the inside ones as well Confused

_________________
Leave not a trace.