Potato scab?

[4390evans]

I harvested some potatoes today and they have peeling brown lumps on them. The tatties look heathy when Ive cut into them. Is this potato scab?

I harvested some from the same spot 2-3 weeks ago and they were small but otherwise perfect. There has never been any veg there before so I was wondering how I could have any disease there at all as the tatties I put in were perfect.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Picci would help to identify.

[4390evans]

Some look worse than others

[roitelet]

Yep, looks like scab. It won't affect the eating or keeping quality of the potatoes. Could have been caused by too much nitrogen in the soil. The only time I have had it was when I put the chickens on a patch to clear it then grew potatoes. The chicken manure which is high in nitrogen probably caused it. Never had it since.

[Penellype]

I get it sometimes even in potatoes grown in new compost in bags. It seems to sometimes come with the seed potatoes. The only drawback with it is it can provide an entry point for pests which is not always obvious, so if any tubers are badly scabbed use them first, just in case.

[Martin H]

Apparently scab likes alkaline soils. I used to get a lot of it on my allotment in Ealing, where the soil was a bit alkaline, but I don't get any at all in my current one in Sussex, where the soil is neutral / acid.

[Nannysally99]

I have just harvested 31lbs of scabby spuds, they peel and cook fine. Just don't fancy them for jacket spuds

[4390evans]

I ate most last night and they were lovely. Quite dissapointed as Ive never had any probs like this but I suppose it was just beginners luck.

[Snow]

I get it sometimes even in potatoes grown in new compost in bags. It seems to sometimes come with the seed potatoes. The only drawback with it is it can provide an entry point for pests which is not always obvious, so if any tubers are badly scabbed use them first, just in case.

I agree, I have had it this year in the ground and in two different types of compost. The regulations do allow some scab to be present on seed potatoes, so it could well come from that source. I had never grown any potatoes in the ground before this season either.

That leaves me wondering whether to try a different source for my seed potatoes next year, though it was good because it was a potato day and had lots of variety at a reasonable cost.

[Penellype]

I think you would struggle to find a source that is completely scab free, given the regulations.