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Phil Thats your pro-ogitive my friend and no offence taken.I did not state my previous post was true, it is my opinion. What i based it on is, planting seed potato,s does not guarantee freedom from disease or disease causing agents or bacteria that is present or lying latent and can not be detected such as black leg or ring rot. Seed potatoes are examined for any outward signs of disease and a small persentage cut open for inward signs.So the way i see it if i choose to buy some potatoes from a super market and check them for outward signs of decease i have much the same chance of getting a good crop as i would if i planted seed potato,s
And I get blighted every season, seemingly. Do certified spuds help to stop this? Or is it just viruses that they help to avoid?
Quote from: RobinOfTheHood on February 21, 2007, 15:04:08And I get blighted every season, seemingly. Do certified spuds help to stop this? Or is it just viruses that they help to avoid?Some varieties are sold as blight resistant, eelworm resistant and scab resistant but Ive yet to come across one that has all three! Its a case of googling and reading the labels .... oh and picking one that tastes nice
I do wonder, though, how much of the worry about viruses is put out there by the seed companies, as they must make tens if not hundreds times more profit on seed potatoes than on eating spuds.How did we get on before certified spuds were available? (hopefully someone out there is old enough to know this) ;)And I get blighted every season, seemingly. Do certified spuds help to stop this? Or is it just viruses that they help to avoid?
When I was talking about disease I was talking of virus disease. Of course you can blight etc. on certified potatoes as they are fungal problems mainly airborne. If you cut every potato open you would not SEE a virus it effects the resulting crops.We are not here to disagree but to exchange ideas but your idea could be dangerous to others.Quote from: davy1 on February 21, 2007, 09:02:29Phil Thats your pro-ogitive my friend and no offence taken.I did not state my previous post was true, it is my opinion. What i based it on is, planting seed potato,s does not guarantee freedom from disease or disease causing agents or bacteria that is present or lying latent and can not be detected such as black leg or ring rot. Seed potatoes are examined for any outward signs of disease and a small persentage cut open for inward signs.So the way i see it if i choose to buy some potatoes from a super market and check them for outward signs of decease i have much the same chance of getting a good crop as i would if i planted seed potato,s
No, because it was a new disease, introduced in the 1830's, and the Irish had becoe dependent on a single variety, Lumpers, which is extremely heavy cropping, but also extremely susceptible to blight. Viruses are a longstanding problem with potatoes; they're passed from generation to generation via seed potatoes, which look perfectly OK. Historically, when a variety degenerated due to this problem, they'd save seed from the berries, which didn't carry the virus, and develop a new variety. The only way to be sure of producing seed potatoes without it is to grow them in an environment like that of Scotland, which is marginal for the aphids whicvh spread them.
..... you should not grow spuds from the berries yourself... Correct me if I'm wrong - but you'll basically be growing a new variety which is could be a cross of the variety's you've grown the year before, and can result in a poisinous crop.
How do we stand with supermarket sweet potatoes then. ??? ??? :-\ :-\ ;D ;D ;D