Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: vron on July 04, 2010, 19:34
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Hi everyone we have a serious potato problem with my 2nd earlies International Kidney.
They were planted on 18/4/10 (11weeks ago) Every thing was going ok until 2 weeks ago when we noticed that 5 plants had started to go yellow on their top new leaf growth.
These were on the end of the first 2 rows right next to each other. The leaves were a very bright lemon, surrounded by very healthy looking deep green. All the others plants appear to be ok.
The tubers were planted in 9 inch deep trenches, covered with Humax then a 6-9inch layer of soil, followed by a good sprinkle of growmore and earthed right up. (I'm very lazy and hate earthing up)
We looked at Dr DG Hessayons vegetable problems book and the yellowing looked just like magnesium deficiency, so until we could obtain epsom salts we gave the potatoes a feed of Wilkinsons Super Grow which contains Magnesium.
This had no effect what so ever, in fact within 2 days, 1 plant had collapsed and died, when dug up there was a very poor root system and very few tiny baby tubers, so it was disposed of.
The other 4 affected plants I dug up today, the roots system looks good, but all the baby tubers are deformed and are very few again.
One of the seed tubers was very soft so it was cut open and you can see for yourselves what it looks like in the pics we are posting. One of the baby tubers was cut open as it to was soft and there was minute white insects inside??
Will post the pics over several posts as there are a lot to see.
Please can anyone help solve this problem.
Vron
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More pics
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more pics. These are the 3rd and 4th seed tubers cut in half and the next ones are the deformed baby new potato tubers .
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Have you any other variety of spud? If so I take it they are OK.
Have you used any manure on them?
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And more pics.
Thats the lot folks, hope you can help us.
vron
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Yes, we had some well rotted 18mth old organic horse manure at the end of last season from Bham University Farm.
Our Maris Bard/Maris Piper and King Edward seem perfectly ok so far, will dig some Maris Bard up on tuesday and see what they are like and let everyone know.
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If it really is organic and the other spuds are unaffected, it's not what I was thinking it may be. (Aminopyralid).
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I can't really see what the insects look like ...could it be wireworm small white wiry worms...difficult to squash?
Or potato eelworm (very tiny I think) look at http://www.fedaga.org.uk/node/126
sorry don't know how to put in a link
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I think you are still right DD.
The big issue with Aminopyralid has been is sneaking into places where it shouldnt be!
So much hay, haylage and silage has been contaminated by it its ridiculous!- its already be proven to have been found in bagged organic compost!
And the history of normal growth and then leaves turning yellow matchs the normal occurrence.
I hope I am wrong- and some one has a better idea!
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But I don't recall aminopyralid affecting tubers like that?
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Or potato eelworm (very tiny I think) look at http://www.fedaga.org.uk/node/126
sorry don't know how to put in a link
That's a good link, although even with my not fantastically wonderful varifocal specs on I don't need a magnifying glass to see the cysts on the roots! Vron's root picture is not sharp enought to tell one way or the other, and I have to say that although I have eelworm on my plot the affected spuds were small and few in number, not deformed.
Not much help I know but it is a pest which is fairly easy to rule in or out.
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It really does look like Aminopyralid damage. Do you compost your grass clippings, some broadleaf weedkiller lawn applications contain a similar chemical? Sadly this menace will be with us for many years
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The aminopyralid aguement does not explain the isolated five plants that are affected. I have had a similar scenario with two plants in different parts of the allotment. Both main crop (Maris Piper and Desiree) Plants turned yellow and died. I removed the haulms and burnt them but haven't checked the tubers. My problem was potato blackleg which is caused by poor seed. Plenty of info on the net. May be worth a check?
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That is chemical damage.
Possible causes are that something containing a chemical has been put onto the area that the potatoes grow in or maybe someone has sprayed a chemical by accident which has just blown on to them.
Chemical damage causes the strange haulms and malformed tubers.
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Thank you for all your replies, I will try to give a little more history.
1: The horse manure was a shared load between ourselves and another plot holder across the way from us, he has not had any of these problems, in fact his crops are looking wonderful. His potatoes are going great guns.
2: The plotholder ajoining us had a load delivered early this year from the same place and he has no problems either.
3: We work on a 4 year rotation, all the other spuds are doing fine, the haulms are looking very green and healthy.
4: The manure was also used on our brassicas/leeks/onions and lettuces with no problems.
5: We have 2 seperate A-frames of runner beans, the one A-frame is perfect, but the leaves are looking a little pale. The other A-frame is on the same side as the potatoes, lthese are also looking very pale and one side of the beans have withered and died, so had to resow more r/beans to replace them.
We don't use any weedkiller or sprays on our lottie or at home so that rules out any grass cuttings
After reading Iain@JBA's post I think he is right "chemical poisoning"
Why do I think this, well I am chairperson of our allotments committee and about 3-4 weeks ago there was a malicious attack of vandalism on our plot by another plotholder, whom I must have offended doing my duty. No other lotties or crops where touched other than ours.
We have built 2, 12'x10' brassica cages, one night somebody slashed the complete side of one of them and pushed down one of the runner bean A-frames. The rest of the plot and crops appeared to be ok, this would be about a week before the potatoes showed these symptoms.
My lottie neighbour had thought it was deliberate poisoning but we did not think that there would be anyone that would stoop that low, still you live and learn don't you.
Opinions please.
vron
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Good grief! I know there are some mean-minded folk out there - if it really is sabotage, that is truly appalling. How awful. I am sorry you are going through this.
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The timings would seem to fit with what you describe, sadly :(
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My earlies that suffered most from frost damage in May have in the last few days turned yellow and collapsed. Some have withered and died. The yields are very, very low. So I am wondering if it is an after effect of the frost.
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My earlies that suffered most from frost damage in May have in the last few days turned yellow and collapsed. Some have withered and died. The yields are very, very low. So I am wondering if it is an after effect of the frost.
Personally I'd doubt it. Was the stem black / slimy near ground level?
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Sorry..I'm abit confused here ??? I thought you found insects in the tubers...that doesn't fit in with chemical poisoning or are the deformed tubers and the eaten ones from different plants?
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The minute white insects that I found, were very like the ones you find in house plants when there is a white/grey mould on the top of the compost from watering from the top of the pot, and when disturbed there are these tiny white insects aprox 1.5mm - 2mm long in amongst it.
They can also be on the house plants themselves but I don't know what they are called, but I think they are harmless and just because of top watering the pot plants.
Sorry it was not the seed tubers with the insects in, but one of the baby tubers that was cut open as it to was soft and there was minute white insects inside. I did not post a pic of it.
There were 5 plants all next to each other, 3 in one row and 2 in the other, but the rows were along side each other and at the beginning of the rows. All international kidney.
The large tubers were the seed tubers and you can see from the pics what has gone wrong, the small deformed tubers were the new potatoes growing on these tubers.
The small deformed tubers when cut in half are just spud inside and the smallest about the size of your little finger nail and not pinhead size of the potato cysts.
On all 5 plants it was the same, deformed new tubers and yellow haulms, the rest of the potatoes are ok, will be checking them out today and lifting some of them to see.
I am wondering if this is what has also happened to our runner beans, see page 1 of these posts.
Vron
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Right - I take it we are now talking about 2 completely different problems? Very confusing....
Vron; not Aminopyralid - from what I can see the symptoms are nothing like it. Looks chemical and unfortunately I think you are going to have to report this [or threaten to] as it could be construed that someone is trying to poison your crops...and possibly you....do you have any idea who it could have been?
Apostrophes; are you now saying that you know what your problem is?
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Right - I take it we are now talking about 2 completely different problems? Very confusing....
Quite agree, have split Apostrophe's query onto another thread 'cos I was getting confused too :wacko:
Vron; not Aminopyralid - from what I can see the symptoms are nothing like it. Looks chemical and unfortunately I think you are going to have to report this [or threaten to] as it could be construed that someone is trying to poison your crops...and possibly you....do you have any idea who it could have been?
Apostrophes; are you now saying that you know what your problem is?
Will copy this post across onto Apostrophe's thread :)
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The erratic nature of your problem tends to argue against ACCIDENTAL poisoning, plus other people sharing the same manure with no problems tends to argue against it as well. However the events you describe do raise the possibilty of non-accidental poisoning, for which I have no suggestions ( mantraps???) The pictures you posted DO look loke chemical/hormonal poisoning and I wonder if you are could get advice from the RHS, free if you are a member. If you take/send a sample in to them, in a plastic bag to avoid contaminating their plants, they might be able to send it away for analysis.
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Sorry if I have confused anyone, but the 2 are linked together potato and runner bean problems, and I have only just made the connection because of the vandalism incident on the 12/6/10.
So I believe that they are all linked together.
Our committee recently had to terminate a tenancy, I was ask by the tenant to put their case to the committee, which I did and without going into all the details, the committee decided that they had had enough chances and went for termination.
The tenant feels I did not put the case fairly. And as they say the rest is history, then brassica cages being slashed, runner bean A-frames pushed over, and then about 10 days later the potatoes were affected and the runner beans dieing and foliage looking very very pale, does this not smack of being poisoned.
The vandalism was reported to the Bham City Council Allotments Dept and also to the police. The poisoning has only recently come to light as originally I just thought it was magnesium deficiency and treated accordingly.