Leaves and Stem

Whole Plant

Tubers





POTATO - Solanum tuberosum


AFFECTING LEAVES AND STEM:

CONDITION
CAUSE
Large gray-brown spots with concentric rings; spots merge and cover entire leaf
Early blight (Alternaria spp.)
Water-soaked brown lesions on lower leaves first
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans)
Light-green to yellow leaves with lower leaflets rolled upwards
Leaf roll virus
Yellow, mottled leaves accompanied by crinkling
Mosaic virus
Yellow leaves, stem black below soil line
Blackleg (Erwinia caratova)
Yellow, puckered, curled leaves
Potato aphids
Yellow, stippled, stunted leaves
Leafhoppers
Holes in leaves are large; whole leaflets consumed
Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)
Small holes in leaves
Flea beetles (Phyllotreta spp.)

AFFECTING WHOLE PLANT:

CONDITION
CAUSE
Sprouts die before emergence
Rhizoctonia (Rhizoctonia spp.)
Yellow, stunted plants
Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.)
Yellow leaves, gradual wilting usually at flowering
Verticillium wilt (Verticillium spp.)
Plants wilt suddenly
Wireworms

AFFECTING TUBERS:

CONDITION
CAUSE
Brown to black raised spots on potato
Rhizoctonia (Rhizoctonia spp.)
Rough, raised lesions on potato
Potato scab
Enlarging brown to black blotches on potato; internal tissue is brown and dry just below the surface
Early blight (Alternaria spp.)
Tiny surface trails (or tunnels) just beneath potato skin
Tuber flea beetle larvae (Phyllotreta spp.)
Dark, internal lesions on potatoes
Phosphorus or potassium deficiency
Dwarfed potatoes
Calcium deficiency
Green coloration of tubers
Exposure to light. Keep developing tubers covered with soil.


Missoula County Extension Office; Missoula, Montana 59808 - Updated for 2006