Blight over the years

[Johnboy]

Hi Alan,
I only get the Commercial Catalogue from Tuckers and the year in question was 2007 and marked across most of the organic varieties was 'unavailable due to crop failure.' This was over printed or stamped.
This probably would not show up on-line.
JB.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Johnboy, I did start off with certified seed and have kept saving my seed potatoes from those. I wouldn't save shop bought ones. I always choose good potatoes from healthy plants for next year's seed potatoes and store them separately from the ones I'm going to eat. Obviously if there seemed to be anything wrong with a particular variety I would start again with new certified seed, but so far they have been fine.

PP

[alan refail]

Morning Alan, i am really hoping that the blight has been worse following mild winters. With this Winter being slightly harder then we have had for quite a few years, i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It would be interesing to know if the worse recorded blight outbreaks through history, were after mild Winters.

Here's hoping for a good year.

Morning OH

Have you seen any difference this year after all?

I see fewer posts than previous years on the forum from people who have actually got blight - mostly about prevention on outdoor tomatoes.

My plan for this year was to plant as early as possible - earlies and maincrop - and dig as soon as ready (no spraying). All are now safely dug and stored without any blight - first time in 10 years - and it has been hot and humid.
Is there as much blight about? Have I got a good crop through good management or just luck?

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Alan, we are still all clear here at the moment, and thats after having the ideal conditions over the last fortnight.

Now hows that for tempting fate.

[glallotments]

[quote="Cider Boys"]Hello Greenman (not to be confused with a Greenhorn)
There seems to be a myth cultivated (sic) by the Organic Brigade that man farmed and gardened by ‘natural’ ways in the past, I cannot accept this. What is this ‘natural’ way to grow crops? Agriculture is how man controls nature for his benefit and in my view this has always been the case.

Having visited many restored 'Victorian' Kitchen Gardens must admit the array of devices on display that were used for spraying is mind boggling.

[Colin Miles]

I am growing Charlotte, Salad Blue, Rooster and Sarpo Mira. Blight of the Early variety rather than the late has occurred. Charlotte hasn't liked it and the slugs also like the foliage so the crop has been disappointing. Salad Blue seems to be largely immune from early blight, but not the slugs (foliage). Rooster is, as far as I can tell, growing quite well despite some Early Blight. Somewhat surprisingly, Sarpo Mira is more affected than Rooster even most of the plants put out fresh leaves.

[glallotments]

Blight has started on our potatoes!!!!

[Primrose]

I've grown tomatoes outdoors for around 40 years and it's really only in the last decade that I've recalled suffering from Blight, with my crops being totally wiped out on two occasions. Prior to this, tomatoes were always one of my most trouble-free crops to grow. These days, from early July I'm checking them for signs of Blight almost every day and spraying because although I've read about the Irish Potato Famine, it's not until you experience it for yourself that you understand just how quickly it can wipe out a crop. I've also read about the theories of blight spores remaining in soil and really don't know how much of this to believe as I usually alternate my tomatoes and climbing beans in their locations every year. One year after my tomatoes were totally wiped out by blight I grew them in the same spot the following year and they were fine. I also don't know whether to believe that really cold winters wipe out the spores. There still seems to be a lot about this disease we really don't understand.

[Johnboy]

Hi Primrose,
You mention the Irish Potato Famine but did you know that during that time the English removed 5,000,000 tons of food from Ireland, under force of arms, destined for the already well fed English and let the Irish starve.
You can now see why the Irish wanted independence!
JB.

[alan refail]

Just to revive this topic - and what I said in my original post.

With the widespread increase of blight are we seeing the spread of the A2 strain of Phytophthora infestans which was first identified in the UK 30 years ago.
Read this http://www.biology.ed.ac.uk/research/gr ... blight.htm

Any further knowledge or views?

[edited to add] and a bit more here http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=71

[glallotments]

I'm sure it is the wet weather and the prevalence of blight spores in certain areas rather than the increasing popularity of growing organically that is causing blight.

Our garden has been in the family for the past 98 years, gardened without the use of sprays and we don't have a blight problem with either potatoes or tomatoes, so don't blame the organic brigade.

Hi PP,
I don't think blight is as big a problem in gardens as on allotments where lots of people have potatoes and tomatoes growing in fairly close proximity which maybe provides a sort of blight corridor!

[alan refail]

Glallotments

If you go back to my original post you will see that my experience is totally the opposite - from a very large, blight-free allotment site in West Yorkshire to a Welsh field miles from any other potatoes or tomatoes but plagued with blight.

I am more and more convinced that it is blight itself that has changed.

[glallotments]

But I mean now not in the sixties. If blight is more prevalent and it seems we have blight on our site of 60 allotments every year but tomatoes growing at home don't suffer.

Our site only become fully occupied a couple of years ago since which time we have had our crops blighted - maybe a co-incidence.

Is the field you speak of that is blighted quite large as a garden wouldn't support many plants really so would be a different proposition.

Another factor could be that after years of enduring spraying the blight spores have become resistant and able to flourish in less favourable conditions. A bit like if we take too many antibiotics etc. Certainly it seems that pests such as greenfly develop a resistance to insecticides - hence the need for more 'serious' chemicals to be developed.

I did read your post honest!

[Tony Hague]

Let common sense prevail and there will be a decrease in the Blight incident. Spraying of Potatoes using the outdated Copper Based Sprays is permissible under organic rules so why will these people not spray.
JB.

I think one of the problems here is that under organic systems, even the permitted controls are regarded as a last resort. But blight spraying cannot be done that way, you have to spray prophylatically for it to work, and prophylactic spraying is an anathema to organic thinking.

[Johnboy]

Hi Tony,
I understand what you are saying and it is for this very reason that I have in the past condemned the organic method of growing potatoes.
It is all very well to have these principles but they do not do themselves or any other grower in the vicinity of them any good whatsoever. It also makes it worse for conventional growers because they have to spray more often because of a very very selfish set of principles.
I'll give you an example of a commercial organic grower who one year was surrounded by commercial conventional potato growers who sprayed regularly. He didn't spray and got away with it. The following year the conventional people have moved to pastures new and the cocky sod who had been bragging all year about not needing to spray, again didn't spray and he lost his entire crop and over the last 20 years has never managed a blight free crop and no longer grows potatoes. TAKE NOTE!
JB.