5 Helpful Steps to Prevent Potato Scab
Potatoes are always a fantastic addition to any vegetable garden, but sometimes these crops can grow some dark brown patches on their skin that look like warts. This condition is called potato scab, and it is a serious bacterial disease that you should always look out for when growing potatoes. It usually occurs during the summer season and it can easily affect your garden if you’re not careful.
Potato scab can be prevented though, so no need to worry. Just make sure to take good care of your soil, especially since plant diseases can sometimes remain in the soil for a certain period time. So it’s better to not to grow other crops before or after cultivating potatoes.
Another smart tip is to avoid planting affected seeds as they can be the source for scab. Watering your soil moderately to keep it from drying up is a good prevention tip as well.
To learn more about potato scab prevention, go ahead and follow these easy tips from The Garden Central. They will help you keep your potato garden free from this terrible disease.
Have you guys dealt with potato scab before? What techniques worked best for you? Please feel free to comment below!
5 Helpful Steps to Prevent Potato Scab
1. Taking Care of the Soil
Remember that the germs of the disease can be retained by the soil for a very long time. Therefore it is better not to plant other crops just before or after potato cultivation. However, if you have a smaller garden, this might not be a practical advice. Also keep in mind that commons scab worsens in alkaline soil, therefore, lime the soil properly.
2. Avoiding the Affected Seeds
Choose the seeds carefully and do not plant the affected seeds or you are most certain to produce scab infected potatoes.
3. Watering the Soil
Probably the most effective prevention is not letting the soil dry up during the tuber development. Further, raise the organic matter level in the soil, so as to increase the water retention power of the soil. However, be careful not to over water the soil too much.
4. Controlling Soil pH
If you have sown mildly scab infected seeds, it is important to control the soil pH. Make sure that this level does not go above the 5.8 mark. It is better if it is lower than this. There are simple and affordable soil test kits available in the markets, which help you to detect the amount of pH in the soil.
5. Selecting Resistant Cultivars
Always choose more resistant cultivars in order to produce scabs free potatoes. Preferably, select from seeds like Accent, Arran Pilot, Juliette, Golden Wonder etc. in order to get rid of common scabs. The russet skinned variety is more immune from the attack of the scabies than the other varieties.
Other than these measures, you can also rotate the root crop in order to prevent the scabies from spreading. Tilling a closed crop before tilling potatoes might also be a good idea.
Article Source: thegardencentral.com