Holes in Potatoes
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 12:29 pm
I assume the small holes in potatoes are eelworm damage, or Potato Cyst Nematodes as I think they are properly called.
What decides how much damage you get? I have grown three varieties next to each other. Charlotte and Picasso had quite a lot of holes, particularly Picasso. When I graded the Picasso I labelled 11 kg out of 41 kg as 'use first' and much of that was down to small holes. Today I have graded Carolus and put aside only 4 kg out of 36 kg and most of those were slugs or rat nibblings.
What I don't understand is this doesn't fit with what the potatoes database http://varieties.ahdb.org.uk/ is saying (I attached an extract but it might not be that clear) where Carolus should be the worst.
Is the problem inherent in the soil or can it come in with the seed potatoes? They were all purchased on the same day from a reputable garden centre and labelled certified, of course different varieties could have come from different suppliers.
Any thoughts?
What decides how much damage you get? I have grown three varieties next to each other. Charlotte and Picasso had quite a lot of holes, particularly Picasso. When I graded the Picasso I labelled 11 kg out of 41 kg as 'use first' and much of that was down to small holes. Today I have graded Carolus and put aside only 4 kg out of 36 kg and most of those were slugs or rat nibblings.
What I don't understand is this doesn't fit with what the potatoes database http://varieties.ahdb.org.uk/ is saying (I attached an extract but it might not be that clear) where Carolus should be the worst.
Is the problem inherent in the soil or can it come in with the seed potatoes? They were all purchased on the same day from a reputable garden centre and labelled certified, of course different varieties could have come from different suppliers.
Any thoughts?