Potatoes , like all other plants grown in our gardens and allotments, can be infested with diseases and attacked by pests. Learn about the most commonpotato diseasesand pests of this plant, as well as ways to combat them in amateur crops. What to do whenpotato blightorColorado potato beetleappears? Here are some ways to get he althy potatoes from your own garden!
Potato diseases - tuber affected by late blight
Potato diseases and fighting them
Potato blight
One of the most dangerous and common potato diseases ispotato blightIt causes many problems, not only inpotato blight on tomatoes
as a result of thispotato diseasedark spots appear on the skin of potato tubers , the flesh turns reddish brown, the tubers rot and are prone to secondary infections. The cause of potato blight is a fungus, the development of which is favored by heat and moisture. The spores are carried by rain and wind and can infect potatoes and tomatoes.
Fighting potato blightis primarily the cultivation of resistant varieties. Potatoes should be deeply mined to isolate the tubers from spores, and if symptoms of the disease appear on nearby crops, preventively spray the decoction of horsetail and onion throughout the growing season at 14-day intervals.After the first symptoms of the disease appear on our plot, spray the potatoes with Biosept Active (formerly Biosept 33 SL). After harvesting, remove infected plants, especially potato tubers rotting in the ground.
Wchemical protection against potato blightthe first spraying is done preventively, even before symptoms appear, using a systemic or in-depth preparation. Then the spraying is repeated every 7-14 days with the use of contact agents. Possible preparations are, among others Acrobat MZ 69 WG, Antracol 70 WG, Gwarant 500 SC, Infinito 687.5 SC, Miedzian 50 WP, Polyram 70 WG, Revus 250 SC. In order to correctly set the dates of individual sprayings and the dosage of agents, read the potato protection program in detail.
Potato alternaria
Numerous brown, round or angular spots with concentric circles on the lower leaves are characteristic symptoms of thispotato disease The development of alternaria is favored by long-term drought interrupted by short-term rains, abundant dew, and potato cultivation on too light, sandy soils. The disease is prevented by planting only he althy seed potatoes, sufficient potassium fertilization, which improves plant resistance, and the cultivation of potato varieties with increased resistance to this pathogen. Antracol 70 WG, Acrobat MZ 69 WG, and Polyram 70 WG can be used for spraying against this disease of potatoes.
Note!To avoid the need for spraying against potato blight and alternaria, select only very early varieties for harvesting on the plot, about 60 days after planting, for the so-called new potatoes. Then we will harvest before the disease develops.
Black leg
Another troublesome disease in potato cultivation is the black leg. Symptoms include black rotting stem bases with an unpleasant odor and wet rotting tubers.The source of thispotato diseaseis bacteria-infected diseased seed potatoes and diseased plants grown from diseased seed potatoes. Sick seed potatoes planted in the soil can rot without producing plants - the so-called black pre-emergence leg. They can also grow into diseased plants, which soon after emergence begin to turn yellow, grow poorly, and at the base of the stem, decay processes begin, the stem turns black just above the soil surface - hence the nameblack legInfested Plants usually die before the tuber is delivered, but are themselves a source of infection for neighboring plants.
The presence of a black leg in the full growing season may be the result of infection of seed potatoes, but most often it is the result of secondary infection from infected plants after emergence.Fighting the black legis very difficult and is mainly based on preventive measures, such as: planting he althy, uncut seed potatoes, conducting negative selection just after emergence, as soon as tiny, yellowing plants start to appear, and then a few days later, careful care and moderate nitrogen fertilization, avoiding plant damage, cultivating varieties more resistant to the pathogen, storing potato tubers in appropriate conditions.
Good to know!
In order to avoid excessive moisture, which is a common cause of the development of fungal diseases,in amateur cultivation, it is worth choosing to grow potatoes in a bagThen the bags with potatoes can be placed under a roof, which protects them during intense periods. rainfall. This method also allows you to try growing potatoes yourself, for example on the balcony!
Potato pests
Agriculture
Agriculture ispotato pestsbut also many other garden plants. As a result of their foraging, the roots of shoots, roots and leaves are gnawed, plants grow more slowly and wilt. In the ground, you can see gray-brown caterpillars of moths up to 4.5 cm in length, which when affected curl into a ball. They forage in the soil, damaging the roots of plants, and at night they come to the surface, where they damage the above-ground parts of plants. The greatest damage is caused by agriculture in June and from mid-September.
Combating agriculturein the cultivation of potatoes is primarily about proper plant care. In the inter-row spaces, weeds, the underground parts of which are food for agriculture (for example, light mustard and quinoa attract female farmers, who then lay eggs near these plants). Winter plowing is recommended, as the crops close to the ground are killed by frost. Before winter, wasteland and fallow land, which are a breeding ground for these pests, should also be plowed.
Colorado potato beetle
The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is probably the most famous and widespread in many regions of the worldpotato pestFemale Colorado beetle leaves orange eggs on the underside of potato leaves, and the larvae hatching from them are rounded, elongated, pink, they turn orange with age. They feed on potato leaves, sometimes stripping the plants completely.Pupation occurs in the soil. During the year, 2-3 generations of the Colorado potato beetle can develop. Adult beetles are about 10 mm long, yellow in color with 10 black longitudinal stripes on the first pair of wings (covers) and numerous black spots on the head. Their body is oval and convex.
Potato pests - Colorado potato beetle larvae
Fighting the Colorado potato beetlerequires the use of insecticides. Spraying against the Colorado beetle should be done after noticing the presence of the pest on the plants. For spraying, you can use preparations such as Karate Zeon 050 CS (1.2-1.6 ml of the agent is dissolved in 1.5-4 l of water, which is enough for spraying 100m² of potato cultivation) or Stonkat 20 SP (0.8 g dissolves in 2-4 liters of water, enough to spray 100m² of potato cultivation). At the time of laying eggs and mass hatching of the Colorado potato beetle larvae, you can also use Mospilan 20 SP by dissolving a 2.4 g package in 6-12 l of water, which is enough for spraying 300m² of potato cultivation.
Potato pests - Colorado potato beetle, adult
It is worth knowing, however, that in garden crops, if the Colorado beetle is not too numerous,we can use safer, less environmentally harmful organic preparations against this pestOne of such solutions is flour bas alt, which the plants are sprinkled with. Dust from the meal clogs the air passages on the skin of insects and causes them to suffocate. Among plant protection products, we can find a preparation of natural origin, Spintor 240 EC, which successfully eliminates the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle.
Wireworm
Foraging wireworm larvae nibble on plants, causing them to die, which, if they occur frequently, may lead to the destruction of emerging plants and the formation of empty spaces in the bed. In the later stages of plant development, thesepotato pestspose a serious threat to the quality of the crop, because by feeding in the tubers, they create internal corridors, which makes the potatoes unsuitable for consumption and food processing, as well as for use as seed potatoes.
Wireworm larvae reach a length of 15 to 29 mm, which, combined with their cylindrical shape and bright yellow or reddish color of thick chitinous shell, makes them similar to sections of copper wire. Their appearance is caused by the lack of proper crop rotation.
Fighting wirewormsin amateur cultivation on the plot, where it is worth avoiding chemical protection, it is mainly following the rules of crop rotation and avoiding potato cultivation. the same position in subsequent years (the break should be at least 4 years). Grab traps can also be used. For this purpose, sliced potatoes are placed in rows or between rows of plants in the topsoil. Pests enter the slices and lay their eggs in them (larvae develop from the eggs). Egg slices must be collected every few days and burned. To prevent damage to potato tubers by these pests, before planting, Prestige Forte 370 FS mortar is also used (60 ml dissolved in 2 liters of water per 100 kg of seed tubers).Tuber dressing also helps to prevent grub damage.
