early blight question

[marialittlebzz]

My potato plants show signs of early blight, little brown patch with converging circles that expand more and more everyday.... I have tried to keep it in control by picking up the affected leaves but new patches keep appearing so my question is :

does early blight affects the spuds as well ?

I can't feel any potato yet so it would be a complete failure if I harvest them now

[Sanjo]

MLB, what potatoes are they, ie earlies, mids, lates.
Might it be that they are earlies and the browning leaves are part of the haulms dying down ready for harvest? Mine have loads of brown bits on the leaves, which are yellow.
Is blight already in your area do you know.
(Checkout Blightwatch. Put in your postcode and they give you warnings. I have had three so far for my daughter's garden 30 miles away from me)

[SarzWix]

Early blight is different from Late Blight, it's also known as 'Target Spot'. I'm not sure if it affects the tubers - it doesn't seem to spore in the same way. I think the worst it does is spread until all the foliage is affected I have it on my Desiree potato plants and at the moment I'm doing the same as you maria, just picking off the affected foliage. The plants are flowering so I'm just hoping they'll hang on long enough to produce some tubers...

[Scottishnewbie]

well folks i too have had these wee spots om the leaves over the last week or so. it's been crazy busy with end of term/family birthdays/highland show/mum being taken into hospital........so i've not really had a chance to investigate or do anything more than pick off the infected leaves till today...

I can confirm that it rots the tubers too! And it seems pretty quickly too. I cut off all the leaves then dug up some tatties for tea and half of them were just a brown squidgy mess.....I am gutted. And of course keep telling myself I should have found the time to do something with them......

Not sure if i should dig the whole lot up or not so off to do a search and see what i can find out......though if it's not a hijacking of your thread marialittlebzz then maybe someone could give me some advice?

[tattiep]

I think I have these little spots on my potatoes. this is my first year of growing any veg outside the greenhouse.

I have 2nd early mayan and blue potatoes growing and it only seem sot be on the mayans. Would this be right or might it not be blight after all.

[spectrawax8]

It may be blackleg which rots tubers and the stems and haulm-seen it plenty in Scotland but very suprising to see blight in Fife - maybe things have changed since I used to be a potato inspector there in the '70s - Scottish seed potatoes the best because it too cold oover winter for the blight to survive. (or used to be...)

[spectrawax8]

well folks i too have had these wee spots om the leaves over the last week or so. it's been crazy busy with end of term/family birthdays/highland show/mum being taken into hospital........so i've not really had a chance to investigate or do anything more than pick off the infected leaves till today...

I can confirm that it rots the tubers too! And it seems pretty quickly too. I cut off all the leaves then dug up some tatties for tea and half of them were just a brown squidgy mess.....I am gutted. And of course keep telling myself I should have found the time to do something with them......

Not sure if i should dig the whole lot up or not so off to do a search and see what i can find out......though if it's not a hijacking of your thread marialittlebzz then maybe someone could give me some advice?

Oh dear maybe my last reply was a litlle premature tho I'd still think blackleg as the blighted tatties dont rot so quickly BUT Ive checked the blight maps and theres a lot just north of Fife in Aberdeenshire get your Dilthane out quick!

[Scottishnewbie]

not quick enough in my case ....AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!