Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Trikidiki on June 13, 2010, 22:08

Title: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: Trikidiki on June 13, 2010, 22:08

I emptied a pot of Home Guard potatoes for my lunch today, enough for two meals from one tuber.

However, most of the tubers were covered with tiny white 'pimples'. They are about the size of a cabbage seed. They come away with the skin if you scrape them a bit. Beneath the skin there appears to be no damage to the flesh and they taste wonderful, and I haven't dropped dead yet!

Does anyone have any idea what it is? I've never seen it before. I've looked through all the potato problems on the Cornell University site but nothing on there seems similar to what I have.

Title: Re: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: Yorkie on June 13, 2010, 22:44

I've no idea either but I've had it on my spuds most years, if not all, and it makes no difference to storage or my health!

Title: Re: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: JayG on June 13, 2010, 22:49

A possible case of swollen lenticels which isn't as nasty as it sounds!  :)

A discussion on this very site (where else?) HERE (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=6168.msg72099#msg72099)

Title: Re: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: Trikidiki on June 14, 2010, 21:14

Thanks for the replies, however I'm not sure that Swollen Lenticels is the problem. Following your lead I searched Swollen Lenticels on the web and found the following articles with pictures.

http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/potato/swollen_lenticles (http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/potato/swollen_lenticles)

http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Newsletters/Volume1Number10Oct.pdf (http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Newsletters/Volume1Number10Oct.pdf)

The pictures do not show what I have on my spuds.

Also, the cause is said to be waterlogging and the one's I have harvested with the 'problem' were grown in a pot with an extremely free draining compost, I was worried it was too dry.

Any other takers?

Title: Re: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: Iain@JBA on June 15, 2010, 09:29

It will be the lenticles as that is how the potatoes breathe. It is usually a common thing to see when potatoes have been well watered or in heavy ground.

Title: Re: Tiny white pimples on potatoes
Post by: Brassica Blaz on June 15, 2010, 19:16

i had them on my charlottes last year.they were ok to eat & they look like tiny little white pimples.i thought it was cos i harvested to late cos some were quite large.i,m on heavy clay soil and i manured in the autumn. :)