Potato blight

Biglad · August 2020

Fairly certain at least two of my potato plants are starting with blight after the recent monsoon!

They're King Edwards and have done 11 wks. First time I've grown them but understand 20-22 wks is the norm?

I'd say only about 5-10% of the foliage has been affected so far. I've removed the affected bits but I'm torn between hanging on and digging up the spuds now to see if they're edible. What would you advise folks?

Biglad · August 2020

Update - one of the plants has started to flower. Is this a sign that the stresses suffered by this plant - sun scorch earlier on in the summer and waterlogging recently - mean it has given up the ghost? Presumably, it can't be ready to yield a bountiful harvest after 11wks?

No photos I'm afraid. I don't have the facility on my phone (=luddite?

) so need OH to be in when I want to take any and she's off gallivanting again

nick615 · August 2020

Flowers are supposed to be a good sign that the spuds have arrived below, and you've done what I'd have done in removing the affected foliage. My advice source, PatJoe the Postie, says 14 weeks is the norm for cropping. I'd wait to see what the experts say but I think, if it was me, I'd probably remove ALL the foliage from the crop and dig a sample root to see what's there.

Biglad · August 2020

Thanks @nick615. The flowers surprised me as they are early and I thought the plants were struggling.

I was leaning towards having a peek. The damage doesn't seem to be spreading very quickly at the moment so I might leave it for a few days. Decisions, decisions!

Biglad · September 2020

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/p9/8e5ejv2thwco.jpg

I've dug up the two plants in a recycling tub that were blighted and got a bowl of underdeveloped King Edwards. I think they'll be edible though

Dovefromabove · September 2020

They’ll be tasty ... and much better than blighted ones 👍

Potato blight

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