Diseases of potato tops have a negative impact on crop yields. Therefore, it is necessary to begin treatment at the first symptoms of a disease. And for the treatment to be effective, you need to be able to recognize the disease. Consider what diseases of potato tops and leaves are found in our region, and how to deal with them.
Diseases of potato tops
Striped or striped mosaic
This disease is caused by the Y virus. We will not go into the etymology of the disease, but only consider the description of its symptoms and existing methods of treatment.
Symptoms
First, the middle and lower leaves of the plant are affected. Light spots appear on them, and the color of the leaves becomes like a mosaic. Then, small dark necrotic spots, dots and stripes appear. As a rule, stripes are located on the inside of the leaf along the veins. At first, threadlike stripes appear along the short veins. After some time, the entire surface of the leaf is affected. Also, necrotic spots and stripes spread to the stem of the plant and its branches. But such damage indicates an advanced form of the disease. As the disease spreads, the leaves become brittle and darken, the petioles dry out. If the affected plant is not treated, it dries up and eventually dies. As a rule, the death of plants occurs even before their flowering.
Treatment and prevention
Unfortunately, there are no drugs that could destroy the virus that provokes the striped mosaic. The only measure to combat this disease is the mechanical removal of all affected bushes.
As for the prevention of striped mosaic, it involves a careful selection of planting material.
Wrinkled mosaic
Wrinkled mosaic is another viral disease. It is caused by four viruses simultaneously: X, S, A, M.
Symptoms
The first symptoms appear on the leaves of the plant. The smooth part of the leaf, which is located between the veins, is deformed, and the edges of the leaves are bent inward. Leaves die off gradually. But they do not fall off, but remain hanging on the bush. Sometimes stems begin to lay down. Although, the reason for the reclining of the stems may be the presence of pests.
The reason that the stems lie down is a malfunction of the stomatal apparatus, which is responsible for retaining moisture in the plant cells. Accordingly, the growing season in affected plants ends 25-30 days ahead of schedule. And this leads to loss of crops.
The problem starts with the tubers
The causative agents of this disease persist in the tubers of the plant. The virus is spread by pests roaming the bushes. The disease also spreads mechanically (when a sick plant touches a healthy plant). The wrinkled mosaic affects some weeds, tomatoes and clover. Therefore, you need to monitor the condition of all plants growing on the site.
When a wrinkled mosaic of potatoes is affected in the first year, the disease proceeds with practically no symptoms. And on bushes grown from the affected planting material, the symptoms are more pronounced. In addition to leaf deformation, there is a slowdown in the growth of bushes, fragility of leaves and stems.
Treatment and prevention
As with striped mosaic, the treatment of wrinkled mosaic comes down to removing the affected bushes from the summer cottage.
As for prevention, in addition to using high-quality planting material, it is worth decontaminating the soil before planting.
Ordinary mosaic
This potato disease is sometimes called speckled mosaic. Its causative agent is the X virus.
Symptoms
The description of the symptoms of a common mosaic is similar to the description of the symptoms of a wrinkled mosaic. Small specks of yellow-green color appear on the leaves of the plant. Over time, the affected tissue dies off, along with the top of the leaf, but the bush does not dry out. Deformations of the sheet may also appear. This disease does not kill the plant. Sometimes, the symptoms disappear after a while. But, it is worthwhile to understand that no disease goes away without consequences. During the formation and maturation of tubers, changes took place in the structure of the plant, which could not but affect the quality of the crop. It is impossible to use such tubers as planting material. The disease in the second and third generations manifests itself more clearly and lowers the yield by 30-50%.
The virus is transmitted through infected tubers, spread by rodents and pests. Healthy plants are affected by contact with sick plants.
Treatment and prevention
Treatment of an ordinary mosaic is reduced to removing diseased plants from the site. And tomatoes, tobacco, clover, and some weeds are affected by this disease.
Preventive measures include the control of pests that spread viral infections.
Aucuba mosaic
The virus infects the tops and potatoes
This is another viral disease that lowers potato yields.
Symptoms
The lower leaves of the plant are mainly affected, on which light spots appear. Only a few varieties are an exception, and during the illness all leaves are covered with spots. In addition to the foliage, the tops and petioles are affected, on which necrotic spots can be found. As a rule, after the appearance of necrotic spots on the tops, the lower leaves of the plant die off. Sometimes, in addition to spotting, the leaf blade becomes wrinkled.
During storage, brown spots form inside the tubers. Such tubers cannot be used as planting material. They are also not recommended for consumption.
Treatment and prevention
Treatment of this type of mosaic involves the destruction of diseased plants. Even if the lesions are minor, and only a small part of the leaves has dried, the plants must be removed. They become a source of infection for healthy bushes. Phyto-cleaning should be started immediately after germination. We dig up all suspicious plants and remove them from the summer cottage. It is best to burn the diseased bush.
The carrier of this infection is aphid. Therefore, you need to take all measures to prevent the appearance of this pest in the summer cottage.
Rolling the leaves
Leaves are struck
This viral disease, caused by the M virus, affects leaves, tops and tubers.
Symptoms
The symptoms are most pronounced on young leaves, which begin to curl upward. Also, light spots appear on the leaves. Old leaves are rarely affected. This disease can be distinguished from the above types of mosaics by the absence of fragility of tops and leaves.
Sometimes the edges of the leaves become wavy. Reddish spots appear on the leafy part of some potato varieties. The tops also sometimes curl. And in some cases, the disease is asymptomatic.
All symptoms appear only in the first half of the growing season, after which they are masked.
Treatment and prevention
Treatment involves the destruction of diseased bushes.
Prevention includes pest control and the use of quality planting material.
Post wilt
Pillar wilt is caused by phytoplasmic organisms. There are two forms of this disease:
- southern slolbur;
- northern slolbur.
Symptoms of the South Stlbur
This form of the disease is common in the south of the country. A light border appears on the upper leaves, the distance of internodes decreases, axillary leaves grow poorly. The stems become brittle. The disease quickly attacks the plant. Already on the 10th day, the potato withers, and after 3-4 weeks the plant dries up.
Symptoms also appear on inflorescences that are deformed. Often, the leaves grow together. Stamens and pistils develop poorly. Some flowers remain green or become colorless. Typically, these flowers are not pollinated.
Symptoms of the northern stlbur
The northern pillar manifests itself in a slightly different way. It is most often found in the northern region, although there are exceptions. The affected potato grows slowly, excessive branching is observed, and the formed leaves are small. Most of the inflorescences at the northern column are colored green. The plant does not dry out. This is the main difference between the northern form and the southern one.
Treatment and prevention
There is no cure for this disease. The fight against stovbur involves the destruction of affected plants by burning at the stake.
Most often, stovbur affects weeds, especially birch. Therefore, in order to prevent from the summer cottage, we remove all types of weeds. You also need to carefully choose the planting material. Tubers affected by stovbur give filamentous shoots.
It is strictly forbidden to eat tubers affected by this disease.
Golden nematode
Bad leaves and slow growth
This disease, also called globoderosis, is caused by worms that live in the root system of the plant.
Symptoms
Affected potatoes grow slowly. At the time of the end of growth, diseased bushes are 1.5-2 times lower than healthy ones. Often, during the growth process, the lower leaves of the potato fall off. In general, the plant looks lethargic. During flowering, inflorescences are few, or they are completely absent. Some plants die before harvesting. Bushes affected by a nematode become vulnerable to fungal diseases.
Treatment and prevention
There are no chemical preparations to combat this pest. Therefore, as is the case with various types of mosaics, the affected plants are simply removed from the site and burned at the stake.
As for preventive measures, experts recommend constantly changing the planting site of this vegetable crop. Golden nematode remains in the soil and infects healthy planting material. Even after harvesting, the soil should be disinfected. After potatoes, the territory should be planted with cereals and grain crops. The soil should rest after potatoes for at least 3 years.
Late blight
The description of this disease is known to every farmer, since it is one of the most common in our region. Late blight affects both the aerial part of the plant and potato tubers. Yield losses during late blight are 65-70%.
Symptoms
The lower leaves of the plant are affected first. First, wet spots appear on them, resembling dew. Then, brown spots appear on the wet spots. In parallel with the formation of brown spots, a white bloom appears on the back of the leaf plate. It indicates that the fungus, which is the cause of late blight, spreads spores. Over time, the tops of the plant are affected, after which it is almost impossible to save the bush. The plant gradually loses its leaves and dries up.
The disease develops at high humidity, so you need to plant potatoes wide enough.
potato diseases and control measures
Mowing potato tops after illness
Treatment and prevention
When plants are damaged, it is useless to use chemical preparations. All diseased leaves must be removed. If the lesion has spread to the stem, then it is advisable to remove the entire bush. But, if a small part of the stem at the top of the bush is affected, then you can pinch it off. We carefully observe the affected bushes for the presence of new lesions.
As a preventive measure, we periodically process vegetables with fungicides, which are sold in specialized stores. We stop processing after the tops dries up and falls. It is advisable to process planting material with these means. It is also very important to carry out the harvest in a timely manner. With late harvesting, there is a high probability of infection of the tubers with this disease.