Oca Oddity

[Jay-ell]

Ok, so my oca is all growing nicely - in fact I have more plants than I planted due to one stray tuber overwintering in the bed. There is, however, one plant that looks a little weird.

This is what a normal oca plant looks like


As you can see, one tuber sends up a number of stems. The oddity is quite, quite different


As you can see all the shoots seem to have merged into one plank like shoot. It seems healthy and new growth is appearing at the top edge of the plank.

Any one seen this in their oca before? I'm sure that it will be fine, these sort of things happen often (usually with my courgettes) but the worry is that it won't be strong enough and just snap - time will tell.

Any way, I have that bonus plant growing in between the giant spring onions and the Strawberries in the sweetcorn bed) moved it from the Broad beans) and it survived the relocation and looks healthy.

[veggiechicken]

It looks like a Mr Potato Head
Not much help, I know, but I needed to say it.

[Jay-ell]

If I find eyes and a moustache pinned to it I'll know who come looking for

[bikermike]

what kind of oca is it? (I ask becuase I have some red and white nz yam in, and the leaves are much more drooped from the centre and the stems are red). I assume it's just a different kind..?

[Jay-ell]

Some are red, some white, some pink I don't know what colour this one is, but I didn't notice any showing the flat fused monostem plank last year.

It's what I had left over from last years crop - exactly enough to fill one bed spaced 1' apart (32 - 4'*8' bed). Plus the volunteer.

New Zealand Yam is just another name for oca - marketing eh? Who knows that Kiwifruit are Chinese and not from the antipodes?

[Jay-ell]

Ok, so my oca is all growing nicely - in fact I have more plants than I planted due to one stray tuber overwintering in the bed. There is, however, one plant that looks a little weird.

This is what a normal oca plant looks like
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As you can see, one tuber sends up a number of stems. The oddity is quite, quite different
[ATTACH=CONFIG]80934[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]80931[/ATTACH]

As you can see all the shoots seem to have merged into one plank like shoot. It seems healthy and new growth is appearing at the top edge of the plank.

Any one seen this in their oca before? I'm sure that it will be fine, these sort of things happen often (usually with my courgettes) but the worry is that it won't be strong enough and just snap - time will tell.

Any way, I have that bonus plant growing in between the giant spring onions and the Strawberries in the sweetcorn bed) moved it from the Broad beans) and it survived the relocation and looks healthy.

OK, I'm answering my own question here.
It's called Fasciation. Apparently as it's occurred in the stems it's going to mean a reduced harvest from that plant (must try and keep those tubers seperate).

If Fasciation occurs in the tubers than the individual tubers end up larger but the yield is about the same.

[veggiechicken]

Do you remember your Fasciated Shooting Star? (Images missing!). https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...tte_90994.html

[Jay-ell]

What a memory you have VC. I sort of referred to it in the original post. It seems to happen quite often with the courgettes.

[veggiechicken]

I have a fascination for fasciation. The power of the Vine's search engine brought me here!