Possible Potato Problem and a Tomato

[Taiji]

potato.JPG (62.32 KiB) Viewed 1039 times

Planted these seed potatoes about a month and a half ago, they went thru a couple of harsh frosts, had to regenerate. Were looking good, but growth has shut down, and leaves starting to look like this. These are the worst examples, not all the leaves look like this, was hoping to nip the problem in the bud, if possible. Maybe since growth has slowed, I should use some fertilizer now?

Funny thing, I planted the remainder of my seed potatoes, (all were certified seed potatoes) about a month after the first ones, and they have surpassed the original group in size and look really healthy! Maybe the frost stunted them some. (the original group I mean)

This is a big delicious tomato I started indoors, posted a photo of those a few weeks ago, someone (rainbow gardener I believe) said they had chlorosis setting in. This one is outside in the garden now. This one is still a little yellow, gave it some Epsom salts water, don't know what else to do but wait and see I guess! Maybe someone has some suggestions for both problems?

Sorry, top photo is the delicious tomato, don't know how to get it down here!

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah, the tomato plant is still not looking healthy, very yellowed. The pot it is in is too small for it now. It needs to either go in the ground or in a much larger pot.

Don't know about your potato. If you planted seed potatoes, then you know you have potatoes, but those leaves don't look much like potato plants I'm familiar with. (Besides the obvious problems, they just seem harder and darker green and different shape.) But clearly something is chewing on them. You need to try to find the culprit. Blister beetles or potato beetles chew leaf edges like that. They wouldn't usually cause the curling though. Sucking insects like aphids can cause that or diseases.

To start with I would do a careful inspection of your plants including underside of leaves and the top layer of soil. If you don't find anything, come back at night with a flashlight and look again.

typical potato plant:


https://www.harvesttotable.com/wp-conten ... plant1.jpg

If you had asked me to guess what plant you have, I might have guessed pepper plant. Incidentally what is all the wire stuff in the bottom picture?

[Francis Barnswallow]

Yeah, that tomato plant needs be replanted into a larger put. Just needs nutrients that's all.

[Taiji]

Actually, the tomato plant is planted in the garden. I didn't realize the cardboard collar I placed around it for cutworm protection looks like a pot! Sorry. The collar only goes below the soil half inch to one inch.

The wire is just a piece of hardware cloth that happens to be laying there. I use those for covering seed beds right after I plant seeds for protection from the birds. It comes off later. Those leaves are just ones I took off for the photo, they are laying on the wire.

I'm sure I planted seed potato, they are either red la soda or red norland, I can't remember which. I misted them with neem oil today, maybe will help. I did see some aphids on leaf undersides when I looked today! Might be too late for those plants, don't know. They looked worse when I got home today. Well, I'll just plant something else in that space if they croak!

Thx for the suggestions!

[applestar]

If we are talking about the dark spots on the potatoes, I wonder if they could be burn marks from the neem oil? I don't use that product so I don't know the extent of neem oil causing burns but aren't oils to be avoided when it's hot?

If you are talking about the cupped leaves, I wonder if they might need more watering? Potatoes need surprisingly more water and have done better with extra watering for me except when the bed is not well draining.

[sweetiepie]

The potatoes look like the beginning of what my potatoes looked like last year when aphids moved in. It was my first year experiencing aphids and I sprayed and it didn't get rid of them. I ended up ordering ladybugs and they did a great job and I didn't have to re-apply and it was cheaper than spraying and so much easier.

Plus I saw some ladybugs this spring, where we didn't have any here before and I am so excited.

[rainbowgardener]

I didn't recognize the cutworm collar because it is much farther from the stem than I usually see. Don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Tomato plant still looks like it is suffering lack of nutrients. Do you know about your soil fertility? Have you enriched it with compost or fertilized?

When you found aphids, was it a lot of them? Most plants can withstand a few aphids, but start to really suffer if they are getting covered in them. But yes the cupped leaves can definitely be a sign of aphid infestation. But aphids do not chew the leaf edges, so I'm thinking you have a couple different pests going on.

If you decide one of your potato plants isn't making it, you might try digging it up, to be sure the plant is attached to a potato. If for some reason your seed potatoes didn't sprout, you might just be tending a weed that grew in its place. I don't know... Applestar, you have a lot more experience than I at growing potatoes. Does it look like a potato plant to you?

[Taiji]

These are definitely potato plants! I think they might not look like it because I just photoed the leaves that were curling. I'm thinking the aphids maybe did bring some disease in, tho I didn't really see lots of them. As far as leaf edges chewed, I have seen an occasional grasshopper (very small) , but it has been so unseasonably cool, that they haven't done much yet. I actually wish it would warm up, it's supposed to this week, then things would start growing and maybe outgrow the pests. The temps we've been having here are way below normal for AZ, and we've also had more rain than usual for the month of May.
The neem oil I sprayed after the photos. Will see what happens!

I probably won't get ladybugs, since I don't really have that many plants, I don't think they'd stay around.

Thanks for all the help.

[Taiji]

Here's a little update on taters. (for those who are waiting with bated breath!) One photo of one of the many lousy potato plants and one of the really good ones. The bad ones (lower photo) went thru about 3 good frosts. I know potatoes are supposed to rebound from freezing, and they did, but I can't help but think it may have stressed them and this is the result. If they had already bloomed and were dying down, I would know this is normal, but they haven't bloomed yet, maybe won't.

The good potato plant was planted from the same seed potatoes, but 4 to 6 weeks later. Endured no frost. They are bigger, healthier than the older ones. Don't know, maybe the good plants will end up like the lousy ones eventually!