Post potato blight cleanup actions?

[farmer jon]

My seed potatoes from JBA arrived today. All looked excellent until I unpacked the Sarpo Mira. This potato smells exactly like it looks, difficult to believe it isn't blight. How is that possible on "the most blight resistant potato variety"? I have asked them!

I am now going to stir the pot.

several years ago I grew some sarpo mira,they went in slightly late & were in full leaf even into late oct (it was a mild autumn ) the tubers were a good size but after lifting two roots i decided they were too tough & not nice tasting as other spuds i grew. consequently they were left in the field.
blight was noted on the tops from aug but only slight,this spread & by 31oct the tops collapsed in mush. on lifting a fortnight later about 1 in 6 tubers were infected with blight.
don't be fooled, they are NOT totally resistant to blight, they are just not as susceptible as other varieties.

this years seed potatoes are bound to contain a few blight infected tubers after the worst harvest year on record. luckily we can smell them at a good distance !

anyone noticed how wet,limp &tasteless most chip shop chips are at the moment due to the high moisture content of all the potatoes ?

[Johnboy]

Hi Geoff,
Looking at the potato photograph I would think that this is a damaged potato. I would think that this is damage due to mechanical handling and potatoes like that are the first to rot. I feel that it should have been spotted before packing because with cracks and fissures like that it is certainly not seed quality even if it had not gone rotten
It doesn't look like blight to me but simply a rotting potato due to damage.
The blight mycelium is hosted by the potato and they carry the mycelium that you cannot see at the seed stage which grows on during the season and awaits the right conditions before causing the usual havoc.
In answer to Farmers Jon's comments.
The Savari Trust produce highly resistant strains but they are not fully resistant to blight. To resist blight for a month before totally collapsing
gives you your answer because it it normally no longer than 5 -7 days before plants fully succumb and collapse.
Savari Trust varieties, in the main, have tubers resistant to blight although the foliage may have suffered.
To leave blighted potatoes in situ for a month to me seems a tad foolhardy.
JB

[Geoff]

It's just the smell that is so off-putting - perhaps all rotten potatoes smell the same.

[Colin Miles]

A couple of weeks ago we bought some Israeli Maris Peer potatoes from M&S. Wife cooked some but they were inedible - soft and mushy, and the rest were starting to smell. Took them back and they were replaced by English Charlotte. Not sure what the conditions were last year in Israel - or maybe this year?

And with regard to Farmer Jon's comment about taste, yes I think there is a definite lack of taste with regard to this seasons potatoes. Or it may merely be me getting old. But our roasted parsnips yesterday were really good.

[Johnboy]

Hi Geoff,
Sadly whatever has caused the potato to rot the smell is exactly the same. Bloody awful!
JB.