Wireworms

[VolesAteMyPeas]

I dug up my last potatoes today. Maris piper planted out rather late. Whilst I was absolutely overjoyed that we escaped blight this year ( the first year ever), I've had to throw away about half the crop because of wireworm damage. I noticed some of my turnips are affected too.
Has anyone else noticed they've been particularly bad this year? Are there any ways of minimising the damage or getting rid of them? Honestly, if it's not one pest, it's another. Sometimes it seems there's no way to win!

[Martin H]

I don't know. My Maris Piper crop was devastated by damage this year, 80% of the potatoes had deep little holes in as if someone had been throwing darts at them; many of the tubers had been partially hollowed out by slugs and even woodlice.

But I don't know what made the deep little holes. All I can say is they were mostly all the same diameter (about 2mm I guess).

The only creepy crawlies I found under the ground were a few slugs, the odd woodlouse and lots of those little orange centipedes.

Maybe the holes were made by wireworms and the centipedes ate them all?

(edit) forgot to mention, I had some of the same damage on Cara and on Rooster as well, but nowhere near as bad. Charlotte was almost completely untouched.

[WPG]

Volesatmypeas, you could try sowing some caliente mustard green manure now in next years potato bed, to overwinter. Then dig it in a fortnight before you plant the potato seed, in the way described on this site Caliente Mustard 119 Green Manure Seeds from Sow Seeds

I'm not really sure how it's supposed to reduce wireworm - either killing them off as a biofumigant Mighty Mustard > Background > Why Biofumigant
or by tricking them into changing their life cycle so that they don't coincide with potato crops.

As we don't have a wireworm problem here, I'm not sure if mustard does work or not, but it's worth a try.

[chefgage]

I stopped growing potatoes in the ground as every year they (as already mentioned) always were full of very small holes with lots of very thin worms poking out of each hole. The only advice i can give is i stopped growing them in the ground and grow them now in pots instead.

[Penellype]

I tend to get small pinkish brown millipedes in potatoes, but they don't seem to cause the initial damage, they go into holes caused by other things, often slugs or scab. You can tell they are millipedes because they curl up into a flat disc. Never had wireworms so I can't help with those I'm afraid.

[Greenleaves]

The trouble with wireworm is once hatched they take 5 years to reach maturity. Hence once the Click Beetle has laid her eggs in the summer the burgers are with us for that period. I have them under control now by using nematodes

[Mr Bones]

We encounter a few orange soil centipedes and so many gardeners call them wireworms. They're often found in the holes in spuds but my guess is they are in there looking for slugs to eat rather than being the cause of the hole.

[Martin H]

I'm now thinking that my own problem cannot be wireworms because I would have seen at least one of the worms while lifting the potato crop.

But since all I found were slugs and centipedes, I think that all the little holes must have been made by little slugs. This is probably good news.

Thanks everyone for their insights. VAMP, I hope you get on top of your problem too.

[Ananke]

It's my understanding that wireworm make the initial small hole and when they are done, the slugs and other tattie eating insects come along and use that hole to get into the spud. I have wireworm but seldom find them in the potato when I harvest but the evidence is there.

I stopped growing maincrop spuds for a couple of years there but I want to grow them next year and think that I might try nematodes.

[Two_Sheds]

wireworm damage. I noticed some of my turnips are affected too. !

It would be cabbage root fly on the turnips. I can't grow them, nor radishes, because the fly is endemic here

[Martin H]

It's my understanding that wireworm make the initial small hole and when they are done, the slugs and other tattie eating insects come along and use that hole to get into the spud. I have wireworm but seldom find them in the potato when I harvest but the evidence is there.

Wireworms take several years to reach maturity. Where do they hide?

[arpoet]

I stopped growing tatties in the ground because of wireworm damage, but don't get em in tubs and planters.

[Penellype]

It would be cabbage root fly on the turnips. I can't grow them, nor radishes, because the fly is endemic here

I have dreadful problems with cabbage root fly in turnips, but I've grown them under veggiemesh this year and no maggots. Alternatively, grow kohlrabi

[Martin H]

IAlternatively, grow kohlrabi

Yeah but the slugs go for those big-time!

[Martin H]

Just to be sure we're talking about the same thing, here's a couple of my Maris Pipers this year.