"Alan McKenzie" wrote in message
...
Yes blight here to - I've only started my lotty towards the end of last
year - managed to get my earlies out the charlottes and swift were
gorgeous.
All my main crop have blight.
The old un's on lotty tell me that they have also lost theirs, first time
ever blight been a problem on our lotty.
Also lots have lost shallots, mine may be ok I'm told
certainly lost all my garlic, all black and horrible - they had been there
since about oct last year - no growth at all and very sick.
old un's on lotty, as said previously never had it before so all new to
them, someone suggested if on leaves and hasn't gone down the stem then
cut of haulm and hope sufficient growth under the soil.
any suggestions apart from that.

Alan
north of portsmouth


"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
Just checked my tomatoes and potatoes tonight and since Sunday night I
have blight on both!
Charlottes seem to have escaped but definitely leaves show sign son other
potatoes.
Tomatoes have black marks on stems and also on some leaves.

As it's early what the best move forward apart from burning everything?
Don't have indoor tomatoes but might have to start next year at this
rate.....

Not affecting crops in Great Missenden or Prestwood or the Lee (about 4
miles away) just Amersham and poss. Chesham at the moment.
Anyone else suffering?
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk


My T and M blight resistant varieties are the only potatoes not to be
blighted on our field but I cut the tops off just in case. The tomatoes are
going down with it and the greenhouses are now infected too but i am hoping
to get a few fruits before the plants collapse

www.rraa.moonfruit.com

In article ,
Janet Tweedy writes:
|
| No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.
|
| Why is the new growth at the top apparently unaffected when the lower
| branches and stems are riddled Nick? Does it come upwards from the soil
| then?

I don't know, but some pathogens seem to infect the growing shoots
and others don't. Plants have an immune system of sorts, though it
is very poorly understood, and can sometimes outgrow diseases. At
a wild guess, it is because the new growth is faster than the blight,
which takes hold as soon as the rapid growth stops. Until the plant
is weakened enough that new growth isn't rapid, when it dies.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 11 Jul 2007 08:36:30 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:


| A little off topic, but if these tops are placed in the council's green
| bins, then sold off later when composted will that not cause problems?
| Personally I would not buy compost from councils for this reason, also
| imagine all the chemicals that will be present.

No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Or in the air, particularly by rain!

Pam in Bristol

On 11/7/07 18:44, in article , "Tom"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:
Sorry, but whatever you're growing, you're not growing Jerseys.
Unless of course, you have a herd of cows on your allotment! ;-)

What I'm growing is International Kidney, which is the same potato that
is sold as Jersey Royals. As I'm not in Jersey, they are not technically
Jersey potatoes but they are just as good grown in Worcestershire.

Tom


I'm sure they are - it's a delicious potato, though you'll find it hard to
get the traditional vraic for composting in Worcestershire. My parents sent
me to school there and I couldn't have missed the sea more.....!


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

All the potatoes on the allotment have been blighted. I've managed to dig
them all. There dosen't seem to be any tuber damage to Accent or King
Edwards, but some of my Harmony have it.

Tomato plants in the greenhouse are ok. I keep the door and vents open, all
day - I think this helps.

BD
(Cornwall)

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:00:01 +0100, VivienB
wrote:

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:08:55 +0100, "Tom"
wrote:

Janet Tweedy wrote:
Anyone else suffering?

Everyone on my allotments (Worcester) have blight to some degree. My Mimis
had it bad, but the spuds themselves were still ok. My Jerseys have a little
bit of damage but the girl next to me has had all her Pink Fir Apple knocked
flat with it.

Too warm and wet is the general concensus.

When I grew Pink Fir Apple a few years ago, the tops were so lanky
they fell over anyway. Also, although other varieties in the same area
of ground started to go over with blight, the PFA did not appear to
get it, although I think I took the tops off the affected plants
quickly after spotting the signs of blight.

Also, I read somewhere that if potatoees are affected by blight,
remove the haulms, but leave the roots in the ground for a further 3
weeks before digging. Apparently this was supposed to reduce the
dispersal of blight spores. Sorry, cannot remember where I saw it.


Just because the tops go over doesn't mean they have blight. Some of
mine are going over, but they do not have blight. The warm and damp
has made the tops grow taller than usual and they collapse when the
stems get too heavy.
I am copying below an article from HDRA (now Garden Organic).
__________________________________________________ ______________

POTATO & TOMATO BLIGHT
Article from HDRA Summer 1999 (Issue 156)

Caused by fungus Phytophthora infestans; thrives best in warm & damp.

SYMPTOMS
Potatoes
Dark brown or blackish, round patches on leaves and later on stems.
The underside of theses patches develops a downy white coating of
spores. May spread rapidly.
Tubers develop dark, sunken areas which may cover whole tuber in a
dry, firm rot. Other fungi and bacteria may invade producing a foul
smelling soft rot. Tubers may develop this while in store.

TOMATOES
Foliage symptoms similar. Fruits develop brown leathery patches which
may appear several days after picking.

LIFE CYCLE
Disease suvives the winter in infected potato tubers in the soil or on
compost heaps. The foliage which grows from these develops spores
which spread on the wind. Can come from many miles away.
Spores develop at temps of 10 degrees C with humidity of 75% for 2
days or more.

NEW STRAINS
Until the 1970s there was only one type of blight in UK which was
unable to produce spores which could overwinter. Now there are 2
types which can mate and produce resistant spores.

PREVENTION & CONTROL
A HEALTHY START
Plant good quality seed from a reliable source.
Most Early vars are very prone. Plant and harvest early.
Good maincrops are Cara, Stirling, Teena, Torridon, Remarka and
Romano.
No blight resistant tomatoes as such.

GOOD HYGIENE
Remove potential sources of infection, especially ALL tubers.
Burn, dustbin, or bury at least 2 ft deep.
Same for tomato fruits.
A good active compost heap will deal with potato and tomato haulms.
Increase ventilation; space widely to avoid too much humidity among
plants.
Greenhouses should be well ventilated and waterproof. Water from
below.

IF BLIGHT STRIKES
In warm damp conditions remove all blighted leaves, even all foliage
to prevent spread to the tubers. Don't harvest the crop for at least
3 weeks to allow thicker skins to develop and soil-surface spores to
die.

Check stored tubers regularly.




Pam in Bristol