Potato Verticillium Wilt?

[journey11]

After searching through late blight photos, I'm pretty sure it is not that. I found maybe one photo under verticillium wilt that resembled it, but I wasn't sure. They started dying back rather suddenly after blooming, over a week ago, with the edges of the leaves looking browned and burned. A couple of the plants are looking much worse than the others. On some I noted that a few of the stems in short sections toward the ground level looked dead throughout...sorta like dampening off does to seedlings. This happened to the ones in the raised bed first and about a week later the potatoes in the main garden followed suit. We have had rain almost daily for two weeks.

 

[thistlebloom]

That's a bummer Journey. So sorry.
Have you pulled any spuds up to see what they look like? I assume you ruled out early blight, why they call it "early" though I don't understand. It affects plants as they are nearly mature, which would fit with your plants age.

I hope it's not fusarium or verticillium either, they stay in the soil for such a long time.

I'm not much help, but I totally sympathize with you.

 

[journey11]

I'll dig some spuds up from one of the very dead plants and take a look. It has been too wet to dig them up until now. I've been hesitant to jump the gun and dig them anyway, for those that are still mostly green. I figure they are still adding some growth to the spuds. :/

 

[vfem]

They could be done, and the moisture in the ground is just having them die off strangely.

Last year I thought I was losing my spud as they never flowered, the bottoms started yellowing and a few day later started curling up and dying. We I pulled all the plants I found the grew a LOT of very large potatoes. They ended up not having anything, they were just finished and I just wasn't ready.

 

[catjac1975]

As soon as they bloom there should be potatoes to eat-dig some up to see.The first are small and "new." they die back when they are ready. I harvest them just a meal at a time, and I already am, but leave them in the soil until it gets cold. I think yours are fine.