Potato pest - what is it?

[fredtbad]

We've just dug up our first attempts at growing potatoes and half the crop had holes in, in some of them had tiny white fly like things and also tiny white caterpillar, centipede like bugs on them. What on earth were they?
Is this a common problem and is it likely to be an infestation of the soil?
Please help!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi F - welcome to the Vine!

I'm no expert but looking in my Dr Hessayons Veg & Herb expert book, sorry but, I think you could have wireworm - but others, more expert than me may disagree!

The book says: " is a serious pest in new gardens, especially in wet summers. tubers are riddled with narrow tunnels. treatment: non. prevention: apply pirmiphosmethyl to the soil before planting. lift as soon as tubers mature."

Thats my guess on the info you've given - I could be wrong though!

Suggest you buy the above mentioned book - it's brill for beginners like us!

Await further ideas from more experienced gardeners than me.

Good luck! DDL

[Palustris]

Hmmm. the normal cause of holes in Potatoes is an attack by keel slugs. They have been bad here this year, no doubt because of the lack of waer in the soil. You would not normally see them at harvest time though. The other hole makers are wireworms. They are usually obvious though and nearly all of them are orange coloured. Less common are chafers. They usually attack the oputside of the potato. They are whitish, but are easy to id. as they have three pairs of legs just behind the head. There are also things called Swift Moths. They have soil living caterpillars which could move into tubers for moisture. Digging over the soil and leaving it open to the weather and birds most often reduces these pests to manageable numbers.

[Waffler]

I don't have much useful to say, just wanted to say 'HI!' and tell you that the Hessayon veg & herb book has been my bible over the last few months and has been my first port of call whenever I've been unsure about anything vegetable.
My pots have holes in, but they're from slugs - I've been pulling the little b***ers out as I've dug them up today! Still, there's usually still plenty of potato left after I've cut around the nasties.

[Palustris]

Hessayon is a bit 'gung ho' with the chemicals for my liking. There are better books available these days.

[nick the grief]

Ah you want my dads old book if you want Gung Ho Palustris. That recommends DDT, Nicotine & all sorts. Very effective but it was touch & go whether you lived long enough to harves anything

[Palustris]

If you had see my library of old gardening books, you would probably find I have got it.
It always amazes me that they survived, the things they used to pour all over their food.
Having said that, the best book we have ever come across is one called The Vegetable Growers Handbook by Arthur J Simons. Published in 1945, but revised and republished in paperback in 1972.

[nick the grief]

The one in question is by Richard Sudell (I think) fascinating really. Having said that My father used to Red lead peas & fumigate his greenhouse with liquid nicotine up till the time he had to pack in (around mid 90's) I don't know what happened to all the chemicals that he had but I could do with a few of them myself

[Earthbabe]

Hi fredtbad and welcome to the vine. I agree some of it does sound like wireworm. Had a bit of a prob with them last year. Hessayon is useful for growing info and the pics for identifying probs. Agree that he is a bit heavy handed with the chemicals. For dealing with things my fave has got to be Lawrence Hills' Organic Gardening. Little paperback with no pics but lots of very good, readable info about everything from start to finish.

Wireworm becomes less of a prob once cultivation continues. Slugs are another story but their are some very humane ways to deal with them, but that is another thread. Dig up and dry your pots for storage, picking over very carefully. Last year we cut up the offended pots and cooked and froze what we could to save on wastage, admittedly some of them were too bad .

Happy gardening. Happy eating.

[Protea]

It might possibly be cutworm - difficult to tell from your description.

Here's a picture of a cutworm: http://www.organicgardening.org.uk/factsheets/pc16.php

And one of damage caused by wireworm: http://www.syngenta-crop.co.uk/NR/ex...,frameless.htm

We have currently got trials running using mutard green manures to see their effect on wireworm (we think the gas released from the plants may kill the pests - see the green manure thread for more detail), so you might want to consider growing a crop of mustard before your next crop of potatoes. Its a bit late on in the year now - you might have to do a spring crop instead.

[fredtbad]

Many thanks for the warm welcome - we think it's wireworm from the links. poo