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Is this blight or natural die back

charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
in Plants
Hi everyone, this is my first year planting potatoes. They have been developing brown spots for a number of weeks and slowly yellowing. They are due to be harvested in a couple of weeks. I figure if it was blight I would have known rapidly. But I wanted to check just incase. I can't see any white under the leaves. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2022
    Hi @charlyfawsittvRsq0rgU and welcome to the forum 😊 

    That looks like the effects of the current heatwave hastening the natural dieback. Panic not 👍

    Blight looks … blighty  … not like that. You’ll know it if/when you see it .., the leaves and stems go grey/black and collapse virtually overnight. 

    Yours just look frazzled … a bit how I feel today. 😉 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
    @Dovefromabove thanks you! This is exactly what I thought, but I wanted to be sure. . They are on around 105ish days, so close to harvest anyway. The stems are a light green now going towards a yellow. They have been green up until now.
    I have been keeping them watered and I have treated them with blight protector in July and again a week ago. 

    Glad to know they are safe for now anyway. 

    Yes I feel the same way too! 😂 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    There are a few benefits to hot dry weather … one is that it’s not conducive to blight. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
    Excellent to know! So I should have a nice harvest in a couple of weeks! 😊 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Enjoy!  What variety are you growing?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
    Thank you! 😊
    Maris piper, I picked a risky spud to grow for my first!
    To be honest I didn't know they were susceptible 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    My brother is a potato farmer growing for the supermarkets … he recommends Maris Peer for ease of growing, disease resistance and flavour. I agree that the flavour is the best I’ve tasted in years in a commercially available potato. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
    Oh that's cool!
    They are amazing for roasting and chips! And the flowers are really pretty being purple! 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Did you misread my post? Maris peer not Piper. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • charlyfawsittvRsq0rgUcharlyfawsittvRsq0rgU Posts: 7
    I absolutely did! 😅 I saw maris and some combination of letters of piper and jumped to it. That's interesting though, I'll have to check them out for next year. 
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