[LottyLouis]

Visited Lotty today to find odd things happening to my potatoes. They are Charlotte planted on July 20th and up until now have been looking fabulous. Dark spots have appeared on leaves and some stems seem to be rotten and withered especially where a side shoot comes off a main stem. Not all plants are affected but I suppose it has to start somewhere. Will I lose them all? Is there anything I can do?   
 

[mumofstig]

It looks like blight to me, you could cut all the dodgy bits off and see what they're like in a day or 2.

Otherwise cut the tops off, wait a couple of weeks and then dig up any tubers already there.

Good luck!

[Salmo]

It looks very much like blight. By now they will have bulked up enough and it would be a pity to loose them. I would take no risk and cut all the tops off.

The blight could already be into the tubers so when you lift them look out for grey/brown patches on the tubers that also show in the flesh. If you find any, separate them out and use them first.

[Mum2mj]

I went to the plot today and a bed of potatoes planted late have succumbed to blight. I cut down all the foliage - and discovered tons have been eaten but that's another story - hopefully my potatoes that are left aren't too bad but the blight damage was much worse than yours. Hope yours are okay

[Grubbypaws]

My pink fir apple are looking the same if not worse. I have been cutting off the worst bits trying to keep them going. Should I cut down the foliage or keep soldiering on with these maincrop potatoes?

[oakridge]

That looks exactly like my case of blight I have just mentioned in blightwatch.

Malcolm

[LottyLouis]

I'm guessing we have to thank the damp 'summer' for these blight outbreaks. PPhhtt! 

[oakridge]

 Sorry Gubbypaws, I missed your post - err - they must have crossed in the post.

Anyway I am cutting all the tops off in order to reduce the chances of it spreading down into the tubers.

Malcolm

[Grubbypaws]

Are they main crop Oakridge?

[oakridge]

They are Roseval (available from D. T. Brown) which in France were listed as second earlies but here are maincrop.  They are a Charlotte type.  It may or may not be significant that I have not grown them before.  It is  beginning to show in the proper maincrop whose variety I do not know.

I am pretty sure it is the humid weather

In the olden days we could use all sorts of nasty chemicals like Temik (Aldicarb), but those days are wisely past.

Malcolm

[Alifink]

My pink fir apple are looking the same if not worse. I have been cutting off the worst bits trying to keep them going. Should I cut down the foliage or keep soldiering on with these maincrop potatoes?

I'm growing pink fir apple in large tubs and I harvested them last night as blight was showing, they were nearly all a good size and probably ready for lifting anyway. I've been told this variety gives up at the first sign so probably worth you digging them up.

Also my Sarpo Miras in the ground all have blight but are still growing through it, the Axona's in the next row are perfect, weird.

[Grubbypaws]

Thanks Alifink, Nice to know that yours are a reasonable size.