5 Top Tips to Beat Potato Blight

Read the following methods of preventing potato blight, written by Laurence Hasson. Laurence has been growing organic spuds for over 40 years and was the first farmer to cultivate a commercially-certified crop of organic seed potatoes in the UK.

1. Choose resistant varieties. Old favourites like ‘King Edward’ and ‘Maris Piper’ have poor blight resistance, whereas new types like ‘Carolus’ and ‘Alouette’ have been bred specifically for natural resistance. Early-maturing varieties can often develop successfully before blight emerges.

2. Ground preparation and crop hygiene are essential. Let the sun and wind dry and warm the soil before planting – chit seed spuds in boxes until the earth is ready. Placing in cold, wet ground is likely to lead to stress and disease. Blight spores spread mainly from plant debris, so dig up all tubers and emerging edibles from last year’s crop and dispose of them.

3. Know your enemy, as other problems can be mistaken for blight. The effects of potato virus, blackleg, scab, low fertility, drought, waterlogging and various other diseases can cause early die back or rotting tubers.

4. Black spots will emerge on the leaves and a white ‘halo’ will appear on the undersides while the infection is active. Don’t walk through the crop when blight is active as this is likely to spread the infection. If it does spread to 10-20 per cent of the growing plant, it is best to cut off the tops to protect tubers in the ground.

5. After getting rid of the tops of the plants, leave the tubers in the earth for three weeks to let the skins set. A good skin is a barrier to disease. Only consider storing sound, dry tubers – check them regularly and remove any diseased ones. Keep your store dry, dark and cool.

‘Alouette’, ‘Carolus’ and other varieties can be purchased from the website organicpotatoes.co.uk

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