Reiche Tom-wilted and died :(

[wmontanez]

I had 4 Reiche Tom plants from last years sampler. I planted 3 in one location and another in a second raised bed. All within one week wilted and died. I noticed early this week that the plants were not looking good, it has been cold and rainy. Yesterday was sunny and went to check, all four were lying on their side . There was a white moldy spot in the stem base, they look to me like damping off? I'm not familiar with potato diseases yet. Dug around and found the seed tuber intact. Should I removed the potato and plant it again? . I left it in the ground ...

I inspected all other plants and only found Skagit Leap from this year sampler with spotted leaves, so I removed the leaves and went around the plants to remove leaves to increase air circulation. This next week the weather is going to be hot and dry but again rain in the forecast for today!

Tom is Skagit leap succeptible to early blight?

[Indyartist]

I have lost several potatoes grown from Tom's TPS to some form of wilt. Nice large healthy looking plants are gone very quickly. It looks like a ballon with the air let out of it. I also have some who look to be suffering slightly, some completely unaffected and I also have some like this one pictured. This is a Skagit Magic (I'm pretty sure without going outside to check the name on the pot) which was pretty large and otherwise healthy which then wilted and appeared lost when some new shoots emerged which I assume indicates some sort of survival of this disease. I hope this means the plant is not only alive but still creating potatoes.
I'm guessing our unusually rainy weather has allowed conditions favorable to what ever form of wilt disease this is. I have also had one tomato (Aunt Gertie's Gold) which wilted entirely then produced a new shoot at it's base and is now growing and flowering. The large original plant wilted and died but the new shoot at it's base seems completely healthy.

[Tom Wagner]

Hot...moist conditions I don't have in the PNW....I wonder if it could be stem rot
?

http://diseases.growingpotatos.org/g...gement/page/3/

(

Sclerotium rolfsii)
Stem rot, southern blight, or Sclerotium rot occurs worldwide and attacks a wide range of potatoes plants, but is a problem for potato only while growing under hot, moist conditions.
Symptoms of Stem Rot
Initially, daytime wilting and yellowing result when brownish lesions girdle the stem base just below the soil line.
A white mycelium grows on potatoes stems, tubers, or soil, often in fan-like mats, which produce small, initially white, but later brown, sclerotia, similar in appearance to mustard seed.

In rainy weather, the affected stem sloughs off, leaving only the vascular tissue of the xylem, which leads to stem collapse.

I did not notice early blight so much the last few years, but since Skagit Leap is a new clone from last year...one season does not tell me much about the resistance level against early blight.

Verticillium wilt is caused by a fungus commonly found in the soil. Many species of plants are affected by Verticillium, but tomato and potato are favored hosts. Typically, the fungus attacks the roots and moves throughout the plant via the vascular system. Infected plants may wilt, sometimes along only one side. Other symptoms include premature yellowing and death of plants beginning at the base and progressing upward ("early maturity"). Discoloration of the vascular tissues is noticeable when cuts are made into the stem.

Fusarium Wilt is possible...
Fusarium wilt is a fungal disease which can be caused by several species of Fusarium, including F. eumartii, F. oxysporum, F. avenaceum, and F. solani. This disease is prevalent in hot, dry seasons when plants are under water stress.
Symptoms:

Early symptoms include yellowing between the veins of younger leaves which become chlorotic, wilt, dry and hang on the stem which eventually dies. Other foliar symptoms include leaf rolling, rosetting and purpling. On occasion, tubers may form at the leaf axils. Internally, the pith of stems is discoloured at the nodes and vascular tissues become deep brown. Leaf discoloration and wilting are often confined to one side of the stem or to stems on one side of the plant. In other forms of fusarium wilt, the root system rots away and the lower and under ground parts of the stem turn black, dry and develop a shredded appearance. This is accompanied by yellowing and wilting of the foliage.

Bottom line: Weather stresses....too much water early on and accompanied by hot temps...watch out!


Such is the life of all the variables to consider when growing plants. Growing different varieties tends to accentuate the failures, however much that hurts. The saving grace would be to find the successes.


All the more reason to sample diversity; note the failures, but localize the winners by growing them again. I may venerate diversity too much and how the deck is shuffled and dealt may offer us a winning hand some of the time with card games and potato varieties.


I hope there are stories of top performers...dwelling on failures is looking at the glass half empty. I find optimism with the top 10% of potato selections. If I know for sure what your specific needs are against whatever pathogen you have.....I may be ready for remedies faster.


Seeking the perfect potato through breeding efforts......who knows if we ever get close? My apologies for any potato that fails to meet your expectations. I hope potato enthusiasts don't give up the search.


I remember as a young boy how planting more Kennebec potatoes rather than Cobblers was considered a mistake...

Kennebec is susceptible to potato leaf roll virus, common scab, powdery scab and Verticillium alboatrum. It is less susceptible than Sebago to blackleg, Fusarium wilt and storage rots. Features: Kennebec cannot be recommended for any situation where ample water is not available during the growing period.

The vert. wilt was so bad the plants looked like they needed water even though it had just rained....later when the rains quit...the plants suffered again.

The experience with Kennebec pushed me further into potato breeding even though I was not sure what I needed in disease resistance for the future. I knew that I could never rely on a single variety again.

This is why becoming a successful potato grower is learning from mistakes often requiring involvement from other people, either for advice, training or simply to keep trying different varieties to replace those which fail.


Tom Wagner

[wmontanez]

@Indyartist, I also have TPS looking like yours from Squat orange, where one looks fine and the other is wilting. I am leaving them select themselves and get the minitubers once they die at the end of the season. I am glad now to have extras!

@Tom, thanks for responding. I looked at the pictures and seems more like stem rot. We went from rain/cold to 2 days in 95+/humid to rain/cold to 88+/humid in about 2 weeks period. That is very different from last year more in the swing extreme and unseasonable. This week forecast is the in low 80's and some scattered showers towards the end of the week and the weekend in the upper 70s more in tune with last year temperatures. I am only sorry to think I might lost ReicheTom even though the tuber in the soil looks ok. Maybe it will re-emerge.

I am keeping a watchful eye on the folliage to spot early any problems or evidence of any issues and post it here. Is this info helpful for your breeding notes? I don't want to bore you with my worries since I become attached to the little plants every year.

[Indyartist]

I'm guessing the stem rot as well. We have had nearly non-stop rain, today included, and have had many, many days of rain. Our temperatures also have been very high with several days above 80 and it is supposed to be high eighties Monday and 90 on Tuesday.My initial posts about the River series of potatoes ended with trenches dug for potatoes filled with water.
The good news is I still have many plants doing well plus I still have seeds for next season. I'll have to let things keep going before I can talk of my successes but I'm hoping there are potatoes being formed.
I'm also interested to see what happens with the plants that have put up new shoots after the main plant succumbed to the wilt. I'm hoping this means that the roots are still alive and will survive with the new shoots supplying them.