Potato Leaf Requirements

[tomatohead]

I have grown potato leaf plants of a number of varieties. I always seem to get yellowing leaves that eventually turn brown and raged before falling off. This year I went from Heirloom Brandywines to Brandy Boy hoping that the greater resistance might make a difference. Nope, same as years previous. The tomato leaf plants in the same area do fine. Is there a secret to growing potato leaf plants or something differnt about them that I should try?

[TZ -OH6]

Many people claim that the PLs are more resistant to foliage diseases, but I often get discolored bottom leaves on them first, but I can't say that on the whole they are affected worse over the course of the season than regular leaf plants. You may just have some conditions that tip the balance.


The regular leaf plants that you have been growing aren't all VFN resistant hybrids are they?

[garden5]

Many people claim that the PLs are more resistant to foliage diseases, but I often get discolored bottom leaves on them first, but I can't say that on the whole they are affected worse over the course of the season than regular leaf plants. You may just have some conditions that tip the balance.


The regular leaf plants that you have been growing aren't all VFN resistant hybrids are they?

Yes, what kind of standard leave varieties do you grow and how do they do compared to the potato leaf ones.

If the other potato leaf varieties in your area do well, it sounds like it may be the conditions in your garden. I'm with TZ on the yellowing leaves: I have the bottom sets yellow and fall off no matter what kind I grow .

[tomatohead]

Thank you for the replies. My other varieties are all from Burpee seeds.....Burger Hybrid, Big Beef, Celebrity and 4th of July. First year I'ver tried Burpee, but I gotta' tell ya' these are the healthiest plants I have ever had in the 10 years or so I've grown tomatoes. Of course starting seeds 10 weeks before Mother's Day and planting with wall o' waters over 6 plants planted 4 weeks before Mothers Day may have had something to do with it. But even those planted later are very healthy With the noted exception of the potao leaf plants. I've just always had better luck with tomato leaf plants and thought maybe I was just not holding my mouth right.

[TZ -OH6]

If your PL plants are getting more or less killed off slowly over the season it sounds like Verticilium or Fusarium wilt, which is why your RL hybrids are doing so much better. If you were growing Regular Leaf varieties that did not have those specific resistances bred into them (most heirloom/OP varieties) they would be acting just like the PL plants.


Both your PL plants and hybrids are similarly susceptible to the common leaf diseases, (Septoria, Early Blight). But your description of ragged brown and falling off sounds like a wilt.


There is a bit more discussion about this on the Arguement aginst heiloooms thread

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27398&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0