Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Is It Blight?

Collapse

This is a sticky topic.
X
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 32
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 11 32 template Next
  • #1

    Is It Blight?

    Blight of potatoes and tomatoes is one of the main concerns over the summer, especially with the very wet summers we've had for the last few years. So we thought it would be useful to have a resource that can be easily referred back to, with pictures and links, so that if your plants have symptoms you can check them against the pictures.
    And if you're still unsure, this is the place to post questions and photos for a second opinion.

    Feel free to add any info or links that I might have missed too. (If you post images that aren't your own, please credit the original website)

    A very useful service is the Potato Council's Blightwatch, which you can sign up to using your postcode (and any neighbouring ones) to get alerts when Blight conditions have been met in your area so that you can be on the watch for symptoms, and/or spray your plants with Bordeaux mixture as a preventative. Blightwatch.co.uk - the essential service for professional potato growers
    You can also read lots of information about blight on the Potato Council's website, although it is aimed at commercial growers a lot of it is relevant for any potato grower
    What is Potato Blight? | AHDB Potatoes


    Here are some images for comparison, the links under the pictures have more information too;

    Potato Blight




    How to protect against potato blight



    Potato blight - Problems: Veg & herbs - gardenersworld.com

    Michigan Potato Diseases - Late Blight
    Last edited by scarey55; 05-10-2015, 11:31 AM. Reason: Updating links
    Tags: None
    • Stuck
  • #2
    Tomato Blight

    Tomato Blight is caused by the same spores as Potato Blight, so it's worth signing up to Blightwatch if you have your tomatoes outdoors, even if you aren't growing potatoes.

    Here are some links and pictures of blighted tomatoes.

    Tomatoes - treating tomato blight | Problem solving | How to | BBC Gardeners' World





    Last edited by scarey55; 05-10-2015, 11:33 AM. Reason: Removing old links

    Comment

    • #3
      Thanks for this.Its put my mind at rest that the patches on my potatoe leaves is not blight...phew.

      Comment

      • #4
        The August edition of Grow Your Own magazine (out in July) is going to have an article on preventing and recognising blight too, so that should be worth hanging onto for future reference

        Comment

        • #5
          Brilliant thread Sarz, thankyou.
          A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

          Comment

          • #6
            Some thing cause symptoms which look similar to blight, especially on tomato plants and can cause confusion. These include; botrytis (grey mould), wind burn, sun scorch, magnesium deficiency, blossom-end rot and frost damage.

            Botrytis is usually caused by poor greenhouse ventilation, coupled with plant overcrowding. If it takes hold in the greenhouse, it can be almost as devastating as blight, so it's worth keeping an eye out for. Good airflow and hygiene can help to keep it away - remove any affected leaves straight away, and take them out of the greenhouse, don't be tempted to just chuck them on the floor!





            Magnesium deficiency is quite common in tomatoes, and is relatively easy to fix - Epsom Salts (available from garden centres and sometimes chemists) either watered in, or sprayed on the foliage will perk the plants up pretty quickly. But if not corrected it can make the plants look scarily poorly!


            Mild symptoms


            Looking a bit more serious!

            I haven't found any decent pictures of weather damage yet... I have some tomatoes that have been well scorched (shade netting slipped, oops!) so I'll try and get pics of those, but, if anyone else can contribute for the frost damage/wind burn pics, that'd be fab!
            Last edited by SarzWix; 03-06-2009, 10:31 PM.

            Comment

            • #7
              thanks sarah......now all i have to do is to stop worrying whether we are going to get it ! lol
              Dont worry about tomorrow, live for today

              Comment

              • #8
                Fantastic thread, thanks. I had some spots on my toms and potatoes, but suspected it to be scorch from watering whilst it was still too hot. Happy to say I was right! Well, it's not blight, anyway...!

                Comment

                • #9
                  From horrid experience I'd say its very unlikely until youve got a lovely crop of ripe toms and big tatties then the blight strikes and you lose the lot. Thats what happened my first year down here in the south (Norfolk) lost a 15 m. row of Gardeners Delight in a week all black and horrid. Never seen it before, as all my gardening had been in Scotland where blight is rare due to the colder winters. Indeed so rare that I believe all our seed potatoes come from there, I should know as I used to be a potato inspector for the Ministry of Ag and Fish - this is in the 70's you understand!
                  Anyway the point is the little blighters only seem to appear in late JUly August onwards depending on the weather of course, so get your Bordeaux mixture on a week or so before the weather turns cold and damp in July. I t worked quite well for me last year - slows up the ravages considerably. Still I grow nearly all my toms in green house now as that is the best prophylactic.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I was checking my toms last night and thought I might have blight but now it looks like sun damage. Phew, what a relief! Thanks Sarzwix, this thread is great!
                    A good beginning is half the work.
                    Praise the young and they will make progress.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      I got a shock when I was in the garden last night and came across this poorly looking plant. I quickly snapped the leaves off and rushed home to make a video on how to test for blight. I have put the video on youtube for you all. YouTube - How to test for BLIGHT
                      Attached Files
                      Potato videos here.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Originally posted by SarzWix View Post
                        Some thing cause symptoms which look similar to blight, especially on tomato plants and can cause confusion. These include; botrytis (grey mould), wind burn, sun scorch, magnesium deficiency, blossom-end rot and frost damage.

                        Botrytis is usually caused by poor greenhouse ventilation, coupled with plant overcrowding. If it takes hold in the greenhouse, it can be almost as devastating as blight, so it's worth keeping an eye out for. Good airflow and hygiene can help to keep it away - remove any affected leaves staright away, and take them out of the greenhouse, don't be tempted to just chuck them on the floor!


                        Magnesium deficiency is quite common in tomatoes, and is relatively easy to fix - Epsom Salts, either watered in, or sprayed on the foliage will perk the plants up pretty quickly. But if not corrected can make the plants look scarily poorly!


                        I haven't found any decent pictures of weather damage yet... I have some tomatoes that have been well scorched (shade netting slipped, oops!) so I'll try and get pics of those, but, if anyone else can contribute for the frost damage/wind burn pics, that'd be fab!
                        Ahhh, I think I have Magnesium deficiency. Where can I get what I need to fix them? Thanks for post!
                        Last edited by SarzWix; 03-06-2009, 05:52 PM.
                        I hate slugs!!

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Teamlad, Epsom Salts (from the chemist) in a weak solution watered on will sort the problem.
                          Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.

                          www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated March 9th - Spring

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            If your chemist doesn't have any Epsom Salts, some garden centres have started stocking it too. If it's only mild symptoms then a decent tomato feed often contains magnesium too.

                            Glad the thread is proving useful

                            Tattieman, thank you for the video link, very useful as usual

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Originally posted by tattieman View Post
                              I got a shock when I was in the garden last night and came across this poorly looking plant. I quickly snapped the leaves off and rushed home to make a video on how to test for blight. I have put the video on youtube for you all. YouTube - How to test for BLIGHT
                              Thanks very much, Tattieman.
                              Sent from my pc cos I don't have an i-phone.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 4 11 32 template Next

                              Latest Topics

                              Collapse
                              View All

                              Recent Blog Posts

                              Collapse
                              View All
                              Working...
                              X