Is It Blight?

[Potstubsdustbins]

I think your wrong for one simple reason its now 16 days since your first post on the subject.

Your plants would now be a browny/black mess.

Potty

[Stan79]

Thanks. I did Google it and wasn't convinced it was as it doesn't look like the majority of the pictures. Yes it looks like one of them but not the majority!!!

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Hopefully I am wrong then! I must admit, the spuds under the ground are ok.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Compare and contrast:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...mg._234BqJubJA

[Potstubsdustbins]

Don't think that's blight Stan.

Blight is brown blotches with a white mould on the edge of the spots when you turn the leaf over. Looks more like its done its job to me.

Potty

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Rather than start a new thread I was wondering if someone could look at the picture below and tell me whether this is blight or just the potato plants dying back?

Many thanks.

I think it looks like early blight. Which is what I also think mine is turning out to be.

I might be wrong (I have used google as a reference).

I did apply Epsom salts on the chance that it was magnesium deficiency and I have also fed them in case they were lacking. The weather has been pretty condusive to it here with numerous alerts over the last month.

I have taken the precaution of removing the worst affected foliage which has gotten like yours - luckily there are some reasonable spuds under the ground, but sadly not a great volume of them.

[Stan79]

Rather than start a new thread I was wondering if someone could look at the picture below and tell me whether this is blight or just the potato plants dying back?

Many thanks.

[BertieFox]

I have now finished harvesting the crop which was surprisingly much better than I expected, mostly small potatoes but quite a few fairly large ones too. We will have to eat lots of potatoes over the next month as I doubt they will store for long, but we shall see.
I gave all the tomato plants a drenching in Bordeaux mixture though it has rained heavily several times again with thunderstorms so it may have washed off... a few tomato plants have tiny brown blotches on the leaves, but I'm hoping this won't spread as most haven't flowered yet or begun to set fruit. Does anyone know how often you have to reapply Bordeaux mixture to give them protection if it is raining heavily and frequently?
At least with early blight it has given me warning to plant far more inside the polytunnel so we should at least get a reasonable tomato crop from those.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the opinions. I think the alerts and the continued muggy and thoroughly miserable weather had me on hyper alert :P.

It's been a little brighter on and off today, I shall stand down and just keep an eye.

[Tripmeup]

Doesn't look like blight to me either...

[marchogaeth]

I'm prepared to be wrong but I don't think that's blight. If you are worried just pull of and burn the individual leaves. Get rid of any dying leaves in the bottom of the rows.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

We've had 3 full smith periods in our postcode area over the last week or so. I have been keeping an eye on my potatoes. The alert covered a wide area of Swansea SA1 - SA8.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but could someone who knows tell me if I need to get spraying or not and if I should cull and burn this plant - as I noticed this just now:



Our local GC does not sell Dithane, they said it has been withdrawn? They do have Bordeaux, but, I read that this persists longer in the soil?

Thanks

[SarzWix]

Blightwatch.co.uk - the essential service for professional potato growers is a really useful service, even if you aren't planning to spread it alerts you to keep your eye out for any signs. But, it's not much cop for those who live outside the UK. It sounds like BertieFox has had blight conditions long before us.

[Olorin2001]

I recently registered with blightwatch dot uk, figuring it would take the guess work out of whether and when to spray. It was free so there was nothing to lose. On Thursday I had an SMS of a full Smith Period allert and sprayed my plot and the neighbours with Burgandy mixture.

[SarzWix]

With blight, the very worst thing you can do is do nothing, it just gives it more time to proliferate You'll have to be ultra vigilant, chopping off and burning any affected foliage that appears from now on. A thick mulch on your remaining spuds would help to protect the tubers from any spores washed onto the soil too; straw/grass-clippings/shredded paper or even plain cardboard.