Not all vegetable growers regard yellowed and dried potato tops as a problem, and this is in vain. The foliage of this crop may dry out in response to damage from various diseases or attacks from harmful insects. This article is devoted to a more detailed explanation of the reasons for the drying out of potato foliage, as well as the measures that need to be taken in this case.
Features and flowering period of potatoes
The growing season of potatoes begins from the moment sprouts appear and continues until the formation of root crops. At this stage, the need for the mother root disappears, and for further development the rhizome plays a special role (it is important that it is well formed). 
Budding is a turning point in the formation of tuber yield and their quality. How long a potato crop blooms directly depends on the climate, soil composition, planting period, as well as the quality characteristics of the variety. When proper conditions are provided, eyes appear at the tips of the side shoots, which soon swell, giving impetus to the formation of tubers. This phase begins at the beginning of summer. As for how long it lasts, depending on external factors, we can talk about about two weeks. The bush can produce up to 30 small tubers, but only 5–15 samples will reach full ripeness.
Thus, the formation of root crops coincides with the time of appearance and blooming of buds. The cells of root vegetables accumulate water, carbohydrates and other nutrients, increasing in size. Up to 75% of the final harvest is accumulated. Tuber development is the longest phase of potato development, lasting an average of 45–60 days.
Why the tops wither and dry out: the main reasons
Diseases
Fungal
Important!Infected tubers cannot be used for food and should be burned. The infection persists on plant debris and affected tubers.
Among the less frequent, but no less dangerous, fungal diseases are fusarium, verticillium wilt, macrosporiosis, and alternaria. The defeat of each of the listed ailments is easy to detect - the tops wither and dry out.
Bacterial
If the potato foliage has withered, the cause may be bacterial diseases. They arise as a result of the penetration of bacteria from the external environment into the root tissue through bruises and scratches. At the initial stage of development, the infection is localized in one place, then it spreads throughout the plant, causing the tops to dry out and wilt.
The spread of blackleg (root collar rot) begins from the roots of the plant, then the rot covers the lower part of the young stems, as a result of which it turns black. Infected tops begin to wither, the foliage dries out and curls. 
With ring rot, the foliage also withers, but, unlike root collar rot, the disease manifests itself at the end of the budding phase. The bases of the shoots in this case are not damaged and do not rot.
Viral
Another dangerous reason why the tops have dried out can be viruses. There are a large number of viral diseases of potatoes: calico (alfalfa mosaic epidemic), curling or curling of leaves, mottling, spindling and others. Viruses manifest themselves in the form of deformity of root crops, delays in development, premature death of shoots, and a sharp reduction in yield. Bushes become infected through contact with diseased plants or through garden equipment. In addition, viruses are carried by certain types of insects.
Did you know?In the 18th century, potato inflorescences were popular among the French aristocracy. Queen Marie Antoinette of France liked them so much that she used them as decoration for her hair. King Louis XVI supported this fashion; he decorated his boutonniere with potato flowers.
Pests
Annual damage to garden owners is caused by harmful insects such as the Colorado potato beetle, potato flea beetle, leafhoppers, and nematodes.
The most dangerous pest of the crop in question is the Colorado potato beetle. Its accumulations in a short period can destroy not only beds, but also entire fields of potato crops. Adult Colorado potato beetles can overwinter in the soil. With the first rays of sunshine they come out. As a result, plantings are exposed to massive harmful beetle activity.
Adverse weather conditions
- hot dry summer;
- recurrent frosts in early June.
What needs to be done
If signs of fungal or bacterial diseases appear, remove infected bushes from the garden and burn them, and treat the area itself with a mixture of ash and copper sulfate. If the damage is not severe, charcoal helps stop the further development of the pathology. Sprinkle the product onto the bushes and surrounding soil.
It is almost impossible to combat viral epidemics of potato crops, since viruses penetrate the plant’s sap flow system. Chemical control methods do not help in this case. Infected green parts along with root crops will have to be destroyed.
Important! To prevent unfavorable weather from causing the tops to dry out, increase the frequency of watering during hot summers. And as the temperature drops, young bushes should be covered with earth or a smoke screen should be created for them, from which heat will flow to the bushes.
Use special-purpose pesticides against pests that have attacked the beds. The last resort is to involve quarantine service workers.
Do potatoes grow after the tops dry out?
Beginning vegetable growers often wonder whether potatoes can be poured without tops. Let's try to understand this hot topic.
In order to harvest the maximum harvest before frost arrives, you need to know exactly when the crop stops developing.
Since the foliage and stems of potatoes are intended to supply root crops with photosynthetic products, photosynthesis is impossible in the dried green part. Hence the logical conclusion that potatoes will not grow with such tops. The tubers will be deprived of a food source.
When to dig up potatoes after the tops dry out
Some gardeners start digging in July or August, others wait until the end of September. Let's figure out who acts more competently and how dried tops affect the harvest time.
After the tops have dried, the skin of the root crops in the soil becomes denser: in this way the bush prepares for winter. If you do not dig up the crop within 2 weeks, the potatoes may begin to rot. But there are also exceptional cases: the foliage of some varieties, especially late-ripening ones, is capable of remaining green and strong until frost. This is often observed in well-fed areas.
Weather conditions also influence how the shoots feel: heavy rains at the end of the growing season cause the almost drooping foliage to come to life again and begin to grow. As a result, the taste of the vegetable suffers: actively growing shoots absorb nutrients instead of giving them to root vegetables.
Did you know?Potatoes became the first vegetable to be grown in space. This happened in 1995 on board the space shuttle Columbia. The vegetable helped restore oxygen and eliminate excess carbon dioxide in space.
If, when frost approaches, the foliage has not yet dried out, you should hurry with harvesting. Do not wait for the tops affected by late blight to completely dry out. It is better to remove the green mass 10–14 days before digging. Mown tops will serve as a signal to stop the growth of the crop and harden the skin.
Thus, yellowing of potato tops is a serious problem that arises for a number of reasons. It can be overcome only by clearly identifying the causes of this phenomenon and taking all necessary measures.
Almost all vegetable lovers are involved in growing potatoes. However, not everyone manages to get a high-quality harvest, since potatoes often get sick and are attacked by pests. Many vegetable growers do not know what to do if the potato tops turn yellow. To prevent the plant from turning yellow, it is necessary to understand the causes of this problem and how to eliminate it.
Some people don’t know what to do if potato leaves dry out and whether they should pay attention to this problem. It’s definitely worth it, since the future harvest depends on the health of the bushes being grown. If potato leaves begin to turn yellow, the likelihood of losing almost the entire crop increases by 2–3 times.
If even minor changes in the color of flowers or potato tops appear, you must immediately determine the reasons for such changes and begin treating the plants.
Causes
It is difficult for inexperienced vegetable growers to independently determine the reasons for the yellowness of the leaves and therefore it is recommended to familiarize themselves in advance with the main factors that cause the tops to dry out.
Temperature and humidity
Most often, the lower leaves of potatoes turn yellow due to lack of temperature control when growing the vegetable. Due to severe drought, the leaves located at the bottom of the bushes turn yellow. Over time, yellowing spreads to the upper leaves. Sometimes drying out of the soil provokes the appearance of diseases and some gardeners have to deal with late blight.
When the air temperature exceeds 30–35 degrees, potatoes have difficulties with metabolism. It is because of this that the amount of harvest is reduced several times.
When growing such a vegetable, you need to ensure that the soil moisture is 60–80%. Therefore, before planting potatoes, an irrigation system is installed on the site. Also, to avoid yellowing of the leaves, you need to regularly loosen the soil.
Fertilizer shortage
Another reason why the lower leaves of potatoes turn yellow is an insufficient amount of nutritional components in the soil. Plants often lack the following elements:
- Nitrogen. Determining the lack of this substance is quite simple. To do this, just examine the potato leaves. With a lack of nitrogen, they turn pale, gradually turn yellow and fall. In order for potato bushes to grow green mass again, it is necessary to restore the supply of nitrogen to the soil. To do this, 50 grams of the substance are added per square meter of area.
- Phosphorus. This substance must be present in the soil, as it is responsible for the formation of tubers and the development of plant roots. If there is a lack of this important microelement, the bushes are less able to tolerate high air temperatures, which leads to yellowing of the leaves.
- Potassium. Potassium-containing substances found in the soil improve the taste of grown potatoes and increase their immunity. If the plant does not have enough potassium, this will cause problems with photosynthesis and the leaves will begin to wilt.
Development of the disease
The reasons why the lower leaves of potatoes turn yellow include common plant diseases. Such diseases not only worsen yields, but also completely destroy potato bushes.
Fungal and bacterial diseases of potatoes
Speaking about why potato tops dry out and turn yellow, we must mention fungal diseases. Most often, plants suffer from late blight, which can completely destroy the plants. Bushes become infected with this fungal disease in two ways:
- through the remains of infected vegetables that remained in the ground from last season;
- through untreated planting material.
To protect potatoes from fungal diseases, all tubers are treated with fungicides before planting.
Sometimes potato tops and tubers wither due to non-infectious diseases that appear due to unsuitable growing conditions for vegetables.
Viral diseases
Viral diseases are the most common diseases that can cause potato tops to turn yellow. To identify a viral disease, you need to familiarize yourself with the main signs of such diseases. These include wilting, yellowing and curling of leaves. However, symptoms may vary depending on the type of disease and potato variety.
Pest attack
The main reasons why potato bushes turn yellow include attack by harmful insects.
Gardeners often encounter nematodes that attack the plants they grow. These pests live in the ground and feed on potato juice from tubers. When insects suck out large amounts of sap, the plants turn yellow and gradually die.
Another pest that every vegetable grower has to fight is the Colorado potato beetle. This insect also lives in the soil and feeds on the tops of the plant. If you do not get rid of the Colorado potato beetle in a timely manner, the bushes will die from wilting.
There is also a stem nematode that attacks plants through their stems. After infection, potato fruits darken and cracks appear on them.
Harmful insects
The causes of yellowing of vegetable leaves are harmful insects that often attack plants.
If there is insufficient moisture in the ground, wireworms appear and attack the root system with tubers. Root crops affected by wireworms have reduced immunity and because of this, plants are susceptible to bacterial diseases, which are accompanied by yellowing of the leaves.
Plants are also attacked by potato moth, which penetrates the leaves. The main difference between this pest is that it spoils the plant even after harvesting.
Plant protection
To protect the first shoots from pests and diseases, you need to take care of their protection in advance. To do this you need:
- Plant varieties with immunity to the most common diseases and dangerous insects.
- 15 days after planting the tubers in the soil, treat the area with garlic solution to preserve the green mass. To prepare it, 350 grams of the vegetable are passed through a meat grinder and poured with a liter of heated water. The resulting solution is infused for at least a day, after which it is filtered with gauze. Before using the liquid, another 10 liters of water are added to it to make the solution less concentrated. You need to spray the bushes with garlic mixture three times a month.
- During flowering of bushes, fungicides can be used for prevention. Ditamine, copper oxychloride and Kuproxate are suitable for this.
Not everyone knows what to do if the potatoes turn yellow and dry out. To get a high-quality harvest, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic tips for growing this vegetable:
- Plant marigolds, peas, oats, beets and cabbage near potato bushes to repel pests from potatoes.
- Before planting, fertilizers with urea are added to the soil. No more than 700–800 grams of fertilizer are consumed per hundred square meters of land.
- During planting, the holes should be treated. They add bird droppings with overripe manure mixed with soil.
- After planting, the area must be treated with liquid chicken droppings. At least ten liters of solution are consumed per square meter.
Conclusion
Every vegetable grower who grows potatoes has encountered the problem of yellow leaves. To get rid of yellowing, you need to understand the reasons for its appearance and become familiar with the methods of treating bushes.
Probably every summer resident has ever had to deal with such an unpleasant phenomenon as premature withering of potato tops. If shortly before harvest such a process is natural, then at the beginning and middle of the growing season it clearly indicates that something is wrong.
The causes of premature yellowing of tops may vary. This is often due to constantly increased or decreased air temperature, a lack of important microelements in the soil - nitrogen, phosphorus, etc. In the worst case, yellowing indicates a pest attack or plant disease. Let's sort it out in order.
Climatic factors
Yellowing of potato leaves very often occurs during dry, hot seasons. Remember the summer of 2010 with its temperatures from +30 to +40 C and above. Some bushes in the beds turned yellow almost completely.
At temperatures above +30 C, metabolic processes in potato bushes are disrupted, which subsequently leads to a sharp decrease in yield.
In addition to temperature, humidity levels play a huge role. The optimal level is 70%. Potatoes require the most moisture during the flowering period.
When tubers begin to actively form, it is very important to ensure that sufficient air enters the soil. During this period, you should take care of loosening.
Nutrient deficiencies
Yellowing of potato tops can occur due to a systematic lack of nutrients in the soil necessary for the growth and development of the plant. Most often the problem is caused by a lack of the following microelements:
- Nitrogen Potatoes need to grow powerful green mass and harmoniously form tubers. With its deficiency, the leaves first turn noticeably pale, then turn yellow, dry out and fall off. It is advisable to add nitrogen fertilizers even when planting potatoes at the rate of 50 g per 10 kg of root crops.
- Iron And manganese- two inextricably linked elements, with a significant lack of which plants quickly begin to fade. Watering potato bushes at the roots with the following composition will help correct the situation: 5 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. It is also recommended to spray the bushes with a solution of copper sulfate at the rate of 50 g of sulfate per 10 liters of water. Feeding is carried out once a week until the situation normalizes.
- Potassium directly affects the health of plants, the taste of future fruits and the duration of their storage. If the supply of this microelement is insufficient, the processes of photosynthesis are disrupted, the plants become more sickly, and tolerate dry periods worse. To avoid such a development of events, when digging up the site in the fall or in the spring, add potassium sulfate to the soil at the rate of 1 kg per 1 hundred square meters.
- Phosphorus extremely important for the development of the root system. It is this element that is responsible for the accelerated development of tubers and their saturation with starch. Just as in the case of potassium, with a lack of phosphorus, plants tolerate hot weather much worse. With a lack of this microelement, potato bushes develop worse, and many of their leaves may turn yellow. To prevent this from happening, care should be taken to add superphosphate to the soil in the fall at the rate of 900 g per 1 sq.m.
You should also not overdo it with the application of mineral fertilizers. Their excess can also have a very negative impact on the condition of potato tops.
Diseases
Yellowing of leaves may indicate that plants are affected by various diseases. First of all, the following diseases can be distinguished:
Pests
With severe pest damage, potato shoots may also turn yellow. Most often, yellowing is associated with the active activity of the following insects:
If you find a significant number of yellowed leaves, first of all, pay attention to the following points:
- How much (and how often) fertilizer did you apply?
- What is the frequency and volume of watering?
- What is the weather like?
If everything is fine with this, take a closer look to see if there are any signs of disease or pest on the diseased leaves. If concerns are confirmed, take appropriate steps to treat or remove plants.
If you detect even slight yellowing on potato bushes, carefully observe whether the yellowness is spreading to other parts of the plant or neighboring bushes.
For what reasons do potato leaves turn yellow and why is it important to start “treating” them on time? By ignoring the change in leaf color, you may lose your tuber harvest. Therefore, find out right now which methods of combating yellowness are the most effective.
Based on potato tops, we can draw conclusions about the future harvest. If it begins to turn yellow, there is a high chance that you could lose more than half of your potato harvest. Most often, plants change color due to viral and fungal diseases or unfavorable weather conditions. Let's look at the most popular reasons for yellowing potato leaves.
First of all, the plant suffers from heat and excess moisture.
Why do potato leaves turn yellow in June?
Most often in June, potato leaves turn yellow from below, but gradually the unhealthy autumn color covers the entire plant. This is primarily due to lack of moisture And air in the surface layer of soil. Drought and a sharp increase in temperature in June leads to the fact that young foliage literally “burns out.” However, abundant watering And frequent rains also do not always have a beneficial effect on the condition of the plantings - due to excess liquid, a crust forms on the soil, preventing air from penetrating to the roots.
In moderately humid and warm weather, young foliage turns yellow in early June
Against the backdrop of unfavorable weather conditions, the plant develops verticillium wilt. Affected leaves turn yellow, dry out, curl and die. Even young seedlings can become infected with verticillium. This means that the tuber sprouts have been infected, and such a bush will not grow to normal height. The disease develops especially actively at a temperature of 17-22°C. If you cut the stem diagonally close to the ground, you can see small brown spots on the cut - this is the soil fungus - the causative agent of the disease.
Measures for the prevention and control of potato verticillium:
- observe crop rotation and plant potatoes in their original place no earlier than 4 years after the previous harvest;
- use healthy planting material from trusted manufacturers and promptly destroy weeds on the site;
- remove affected plants along with tubers and burn them;
- spray the plantings immediately after germination with a solution of copper sulfate (10 g per 10 liters of water);
- treat affected plants with copper oxychloride (2 g per 1 sq.m.).
The next common cause of June leaf wilting is fusarium wilt. It starts from the top of the potato bush, gradually affecting the entire plant. Fusarium actively develops during periods of high humidity and cool weather. At the same time, interestingly, the stem is restored overnight and looks healthy outwardly. But with a strong development of the disease, both the stem itself and the leaves turn brown (later they curl and die).
Measures for the prevention and control of potato fusarium:
- grow varieties that are relatively resistant to fusarium Berlichengen,Detskoselsky, Priekulsky early;
- Before planting, sort the planting material, discarding affected and diseased tubers;
- Treat the seed tubers before planting with one of the antibacterial drugs: Fitosporin, Integral, Baktofit in accordance with the instructions;
- After the first signs of the disease appear, it is forbidden to plant potatoes in the same place for 3-4 years. The soil should be regularly plowed to a depth of 30 cm and all weeds of the nightshade family should be destroyed.
Why do potato leaves turn yellow in July?
At the beginning of July, do the potato leaves also turn yellow and black spots appear on them? Perhaps she liked the plantings potato nematode. This microscopic pest feeds on the sap of the roots, as a result of which the stem and leaves weaken, turn yellow and die. If affected by a nematode, 60-80% of the harvest may be missing.
Remember that the effectiveness of fungicides reaches its maximum only in sunny weather
Measures for the prevention and control of potato nematode:
- After potatoes, plant lupines, meadow fescue, marigolds, table and sugar beets, oats, rye, cabbage and peas;
- Before planting potatoes, carry out preventive application of urea (1 kg per hundred square meters). Then pass 1 kg of potato sprouts through a meat grinder and pour in 10 liters of water. This solution is enough to water 1 acre;
- during planting, add 2-3 handfuls of rotted manure or compost, one handful of ash and 1 tbsp into each hole. dry bird droppings. Sprinkle all this with soil and plant the potatoes with their sprouts facing up;
- After planting, water the soil with a solution of liquid chicken manure (1 part fertilizer to 10 parts water). Apply 10 liters of composition per 1 sq.m.
Towards mid-summer, potatoes begin to experience iron deficiency And manganese. It leads to chlorosis and the withering of the “green robe” of the bushes. How to avoid it?
Measures to prevent and combat potato chlorosis:
- do not allow the soil to dry out and use substances that help acidify it: ammonium sulfate, urea, etc.;
- feed the bushes with manganese sulfate (5-7 g per 10 liters of water) and add 1-1.5 liters of the mixture under each bush;
- spray the leaves with iron sulfate (50 g per 10 liters of water), spraying every 4-5 days.
Why do the lower leaves of potatoes turn yellow?
The most important misfortune of a potato grower is the yellowing of the lower leaves of young tops. Most often this is a sign late blight- a dangerous disease that affects potatoes no matter where they grow. Dark spots form along the edges of the leaves, which gradually spread to the entire plant. On the inside, the spots become discolored, which is sometimes accompanied by yellowing of the leaves.
It is very difficult to save bushes from late blight; as a rule, they are uprooted and burned
Measures for the prevention and control of late blight:
- The future harvest should be taken care of while harvesting the tubers. They should be inspected and diseased and damaged specimens should be discarded, and healthy potatoes should be dried. It is better to immediately burn diseased tubers outside the site - late blight spores are very volatile and easily travel long distances;
- choose varieties that ripen before late blight has time to develop: Arina, Verb, Nevsky, Ogonyok, September;
- 1.5 weeks after planting the tubers in open ground, use the following composition: grind 200 g of garlic in a meat grinder and pour in 1 liter of warm water. Leave in a dark place for two days and then strain. Dilute the mixture with water so that the total volume of the resulting solution is 10 liters, and spray the plantings 3-4 times a month during the season;
- During the budding period, contact fungicides can be used: copper oxychloride (40 g per 10 l of water), Ditamine M-45 (20 g per 10 l of water), Kuproxat (25 g per 10 l of water).
And finally, the most important thing - sometimes the leaves turn yellow due to what you planted early potato variety or the old leaves simply fall off. This is a natural process and there is no need to worry about it. For all other cases, use our recommendations.
Potato tops are of great importance for tubers. The tuber sets and grows only when its “body” receives nutrients produced by the leaves during the process of photosynthesis. As soon as the tops turn black and dry, the growth of tubers stops.
Various spots on the tops that appear long before harvest are a sign of the potato being affected by some disease.
Such a process could be:
- physiological (earlier in early varieties, later in later varieties);
- pathological (under the influence of physical, chemical, biological factors).
Physiological factors
When purchasing a variety, the growing season is usually indicated. The smaller it is, the sooner the potatoes will set tubers and the tops will begin to dry out.
Yellowed and naturally dried tops are a sign of ripening potato tubers.
Experienced vegetable growers can already judge by the condition of the foliage and shoots whether it is an early or late variety.
If the weather conditions in the area where potatoes are grown are constantly high in humidity, preference is given to early varieties, since they are the ones who can produce the harvest. However, it should be taken into account that early varieties do not have the same yield indicators as medium and late ones.
Pathological factors
If everything is clear with the varieties, then there are many factors influencing the premature blackening of tops of a different order.
The main reasons that caused the blackening of the tops are diseases and the most common, of course, is.
Late blight of potatoes
Signs of late blight.
The danger of this disease is lightning speed. If everything was fine 2 weeks ago, then as soon as the leaf begins to turn brown, it is almost impossible to save it.
The epidemic activity of this disease is so high that in a matter of days it spreads from garden to garden, and from field to field.
Many people know that a peak is observed if:
At this moment you need to look especially carefully at the underside of the sheet. surrounded by a light fluffy coating indicates danger. 5-6 days will pass, and the tops will rot in rainy weather or dry out in dry weather. The trouble is that during the rainy season it is very difficult to choose the moment to treat the potato plot with preparations. After treatment, time needs to pass for the absorption of the medicinal substance, and rains do not allow this to happen.
If the garden is located far away, then often vegetable growers, when they come to the potato plot, only note the fact that the tops have turned black.
That is why the basis of well-being lies in preventive treatments that are carried out:
- during the budding period;
- after flowering;
- then every 14 days.
You cannot wait for signs of disease and only then begin treatment. There is no certainty that the strain of microorganisms will react to the drug you choose. If this does not happen, then the “burning” of the potatoes will continue even after processing and the harvest will be lost.
Alternariz potato
The pathogenic microscopic fungus that causes this disease infects the plant, usually 20–25 days before flowering. Mainly mid-season and mid-late varieties are susceptible to the disease.
- The lower leaves are affected first . Round spots form on them. Then they move to the upper leaves, merge, and the entire tops turn black and dry out.
- Such potatoes do not have the ability to prolong the growing season and grow a crop.
- If the fungus spreads to the tuber, then rotting will begin from the outer part and then move to the inner part.
Fusarium on potatoes
Another fungus that causes blackening of potato tops. It can be distinguished from the previous ones by the fact that when it settles on the tops, it first leads to the withering of the leaves. The lower leaf plates lose turgor and then dry out. The fungus gradually spreads to the upper parts and the tops turn completely black.
Signs of fusarium.
Initially, vegetable growers think that the heat is to blame, but high temperatures only contribute to the proliferation of the fungus.
On tubers the effect is also clearly visible; the spots are dry (dry rot) and very compact. Peak manifestation on tubers occurs in February.
Such planting material should not be trimmed; it is better to discard it.
Blackening from scab
Rhizoctoniosis, or black scab caused by a microscopic fungus, affects the vascular system, which is why the plant has an oblong blackening along the stems. Initially, the young stems, the lower ones, turn black, and then the whole plant quickly picks up.
The disease begins with subtle darkening on the underside of the leaf.
- Blackening is rarely accompanied by drying out; as a rule, it rots.
- The leaf blades are affected along the veins and seem to curl.
- Tubers after removal from the soil do not show signs of disease. During storage, black, sooty lumps consisting of fungal bodies form on them, sclerotium .
Do I need to dig up potatoes?
Some vegetable growers are in no hurry to dig up potatoes after the tops turn black. Their motives are that the potatoes must stand and the skins must become stronger. However, this opinion is wrong.
After the tops die, the tubers stop developing.
While in the ground, the tubers continue to become infected. Moisture brings pathogen spores to the tubers and infects them. As a result, such potatoes will not be able to survive until spring, and if selected for planting material, they will be a source of infection.
As soon as the tops turn black, the growing season is completed. Potatoes have nothing else to do in the ground. It is necessary:
- dig up;
- wash the soil with a hose;
- spread out in the shade to dry for 2–3 weeks;
- sort through, removing damaged ones;
- leave in the shade again for 1–2 weeks;
- re-select the affected ones.
With areas where potatoes grew, proceed as follows:
- soils are treated 1% solution of copper sulfate from a spray bottle;
- In the place where the affected potatoes grew, green manure crops are sown ( , rye );
- observe crop rotation, return potatoes to their original place After 4 years.
So that the situation does not repeat itself
Treatment of tubers before planting.
Violating the conditions of agricultural technology, fungal infections affect potatoes from year to year. To break this circle, it is necessary to treat the planting material with a solution:
- copper sulfate (1%);
- drug " Maksim" (according to instructions);
- biofungicide " Agat-25 K ».
During the growing season, potatoes are sprayed with fungicidal preparations starting from the moment of germination. The frequency of treatments is 14–18 days.
The following can be used as biological preparations:
- whey (1 liter per bucket of water);
- "Fitosporin-M2".
To increase the resistance of a potato plant, nitrogen concentrations of fertilizing should be reduced and fertilizing with calcium and phosphorus should be increased.
If the tops begin to turn black
Spraying tops at the first sign of disease helps control infections.
In the case where prevention was not carried out, and the signs of damage could not be prevented, therapeutic methods must be adopted. For this purpose, you can use one of the following:
- Bordeaux mixture solution;
- "Ordan";
- "Acrobat";
- "Oxychom";
- "Ridomil Gold";
- "Home";
- "Cartoocide."
The tops are processed no later than 20 days before the tubers are harvested from the garden.
During the growing season, all fungicidal preparations should be alternated. This will not allow the fungi to mutate and create opposition to the control agent.
It happens that vegetable growers use the same products from year to year. Over time, it becomes clear that they have lost their effectiveness. The agrochemical industry, both domestic and foreign, is constantly improving means, and by choosing new ones, you can easily cope with the infection.
During the period of budding and the beginning of flowering, you can use the preparations " Ridomil Gold ", then, after 14–20 days " Revus Top 500 SC "in another 15 days" Quadris 250 SC ».
conclusions
In the struggle for productivity, there is not a single point that can be neglected. By following agricultural practices and prevention, you can protect the tops from blackening and achieve good yields.
