Read if you grow Potatoes or Tomatoes - BLIGHT 2012

If you grow either of these you should be aware of blight, it can quickly devastate your crop, making it completely useless, the following factsheet will see you better informed.

http://www.potato.org.uk/sites/default/files/[current-page:arg:?]/what_is_potato_blight.pdf

You can also sign up to a free service that warns you about when blight is imminent due to weather conditions or if it has been found in your postcide area, it will text and/or email you meaning you can be extra vigilant.

Go and arm yourself against this devastating disease and be ready.

Blightwatch.co.uk - the essential service for professional potato growers


Many of the members here have suffered blight in past years, myself included.

Can this be stickied whilst we are in blight season once more please?

Steve...

 

I registered last year, and checked a while back and I'm still registered with them for alerts (just not received any yet).

 

I received an alert on June 9th for our area, for a full smith period...but luckily no blight as yet.

Steve...

 

Its a fungus that will destroy Potato and Tomato plants entirely, turns the plant to mush.

It mainly affects outdoor crops but does take out greenhouse crops as well.

The spores lay on the soil & get splashed up onto the plants by rain, but it can be spread by the wind too.

If you get it you need to destroy affected plants as it will overwinter on foliage & become even more virulent the next year.

Its one of the reasons we use seed potatoes & don't replant saved tubers or supermarket bought ones.

 

Steve, both those links are to the same webpage:

Code:

http://www.blightwatch.co.uk/content/bw-Home.asp

The first link doesn't work as the address of that factsheet has now been changed to http://www.potato.org.uk/sites/default/files/[current-page:arg:?]/what_is_potato_blight.pdf

 

Ah, must have been a copy paste error when I was constructing the post in wordpad, I had a different page as the second link...I'll have to try and find that again.

Cheers

Steve...

 

Re tomato blight, I had a fantastic crop year before last the small variety, plants 5ft high covered in little green fruits, then over night the plants just withered and died i was devastated vowed never to grow tomato's again just stick to runner beans...only have the slugs/snails to deal with.

 

Not sure if this is True or if it is an old wife's tale, but I read somewhere that baking soda diluted with water and sprayed on to the plants and leafs kills blight dead

 

Just got a 'Near Miss' email for my postcode plus two surrounding areas - in addition to my home postcode I also monitor 4 other immediately adjoining postcodes to the N,S,E & W so I get an idea what's happening nearby (rather than be blissfully unaware of the ravages of blight all around).

 

Got the 'Full Smith Period' alert email 30 mins ago - off to spray my tomatoes as soon as my daughter's home from school. Had planned to pick honeysuckle flowers for winemaking. Wondering if it's worth bothering with the spuds as most have rotted in the ground.

 

Too late for us, our are going black now.

 

What are we supposed to do about it if we get the warning? At the moment I'm confining myself to hand-wringing and imprecations to the tomato god.

 

Spray with Bordeaux Mixture & make sure you buy all thats in the Nursery before they withdraw it (if they haven't already )


@ Strongy, blimey, sorry to see that