quarta-feira, 11 de junho de 2008

Problemas com as batatas / Potato problems

Passa-se qualquer coisa de muito errado com as minhas batatas. Três das plantas começaram a murchar, sem qualquer motivo aparente. As folhas parecem ter sido cortadas/ratadas na base e começas a murchar.

There is something very wrong with my potatoes. Three of the plants started to wilt with no apparent reason. The leaves seam to have been cut by the base and start dying)



Quando examinei as plantas de perto a unica coisa que encontrei foram estas formigas (pelo menos parecem formigas) minusculas. Poderão ser elas as responsaveis pelo que se está a passar com as plantas?

On a closer look the only abnormal thing I can find are these tiny ants ( I think they are ants). Could they be causing the plant to die?

Estas são as outras plantas, plantadas no mesmo solo, recebem as mesmas regas, a mesma fertilização. Como podem ver estão optimas.

These are my other potato plants. They have the same soil, same fertilization, same watering as the sick ones. As you can see they look great.

Entre as batatas sãs e as batatas doentes está plantada uma fila de beterrabas. As beterrabas estão saudaveis e a crescer (Por falar nisso... experimentei beterrabas assadas no forno e adorei! Parece que afinal não vou só comer as folhas). Estas batatas foram uma experiencia, mas não gostava de as perder antes de poder colher as batatas. Alguém por aí tem alguma ideia?

Between the sick potatoes and the healthy ones is a row of beets (By the way, I tried them roasted with olive olive and garlic and they were delicious. Guess I wont be eating the leaves only). These potatoes were just an experiment but I wouldn't like to lose them before harvesting some potatoes. Does any one have a clue to this problem?

6 comentários:

Anónimo disse...

The problem with the potato might be a virus:

http://www.soilman.uk.com/soilmans_allotment_blog/2008/05/these-few-days.html

Did you plant an eating potato or a specially purchased seed potato? Seed potatoes are usually certified virus free, while commercially grown eating potatoes often contain viruses.

Viooltje disse...

My first thought upon seeing ants was aphids, and thought the ant menagerie was feeding on aphid honeydew. But I didn't spot any, apart from the black thingy on the ants photo.

We have given up on potato growing last year but I have quite a few plants that have reemerged so I left them growing. And recently discovered they are seriously infested with potato beetles, and half of the plants have been eaten 'to the bone'. I have sprayed with some home-made concoctions but that is just a temporary remedy. It got me so frustrated over the years I have decided to give up on potatoes. I wish I could be of more help, I think if there's no pest to be seen, it could be one of the bacterial evils.

Check this site
http://www.slhfarm.com/potatopests.html

it might help , as you would do better with recognizing symptoms. Good luck!

Violet

P.S. : Congrats on the impressive Euro'08 start ;-)

ameixa seca disse...

Gintoino, como é óbvio eu não te posso ajudar. Mas os meus vizinhos também não têm tido sorte com as batatas. Dizem que quando as vão apanhar não se aproveita grande coisa. Quanto às beterrabas eu adoro comê-las cozidas e depois partidas aos pedacinhos numa saladinha. É delicioso...

chuck b. disse...

Sorry about the potatoes. Did you grow another Solanaceae in that spot last year? Some pathogens that affect that family can persist in the soil environment for years.

Congratulations on beets!

gintoino disse...

thank you all for your comments. Not knowing what was going on I decided to pull the plants out. I still harvested some delicious potatoes.

chuck b. I'm becoming a beet addict! ;-)

ameixa seca, as outas batatas logo ao lado estão de perfeita saude e estas ainda produziram umas batatas decentes...

Jennie disse...

Hey Gintoino - I finally got around to commenting on your blog for a change. :)

I think I know what's wrong with your potatoes (but I'll ask someone at my school/work to confirm). It sounds like the same thing that happens quite often to squash plants here. There is a tiny mite/bug that likes to lay its eggs in the base of certain crops. When the eggs hatch, the young immediately set about devouring the plant stems from the inside out. If your potatoes did just suddenly wilt over the course of about a day, then this is almost certainly the cause. Unfortunately there's no way to save them at this point.

For squash, it's recommended to bend some of the stems down to the ground to get them to put in roots too so if the bugs attack the main stem and cut off the water supply, other parts of the plant have some roots too. I haven't done this myself though.

I'll try to find some more scientific information on it so you get a better idea, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

The potatoes look great though! So glad to hear you're loving beets now!