Topic: Worms, Worms, Worms

[Bath_Bun]

Have just finished harvesting my King Edward crop for winter storage.  However some of the potatoes have come up with holes in them which I assume are caused by wireworms.  It seems to be local to one piece of the allotment.  Can anyone help with identification of the worms as they don't seem to resemble pictures I can find on the internet.  THey vary from chestnut to creamy yellow in colour and have many, many legs.  I personally would have said they were millipedes but I am prepared to be enlightened.  

Is there any way of eliminating this (I am trying to grow organically)?  I had heard that green manure may help though which one I do not know.  What other crop should I grow on this area next year to bypass the problem?  It appears to have affected the turnips I grew as well.

Is it a good year for spuds this year?  I have harvested 137lbs off of a 3kg bag of seed potatoes.  As this is a first year on the allotment for me can anyone tell me if this is good?  I also harvested 58lbs of Arran Pilot and 65lbs of Wilja, each of those off of 3 kg bags of seed potatoes.

[aquilegia]

did they move fast or slow?

You can tell the difference between millipedes and centipedes by how fast they move. One is a friend, the other a foe, but I've forgotten which is which.

[Bath_Bun]

They move pretty fast but I can just about catch them.  I have been disposing of them so I have been doing the right thing.  

I have also tried the BBC Gardening messageboard but have had no replies at all.  Can anyone help or am I the only one to be suffering?

[Mrs Ava]

Okay, googled wireworms and this is what I found....

http://www.agproducts.basf.com/insectguide/pages/wireworm.asp

Any good?

p.s.  Just found another.....  http://www.blackthornarable.co.uk/photography/potpests.htm

[Hugh_Jones]

A slightly better picture on

http://www.myerscough.ac.uk/arboriculture/research/wireworm.pdf

[Bath_Bun]

Thanks for these pictures, they are clearer than I have found.

Fortunately these do not resemble what I am finding so I presume I do not have wireworm.  The creatures I am finding have lots of legs.  Is it possible to have wireworm and not actually find the creatures themselves?

I have tiny holes in the spuds so perhaps there is another bug which is causing them.  Any help would be gratefully received.

[Doris_Pinks]

Could it be slugs?

[Bath_Bun]

I thought about that but the holes are tiny (max 3mm across).  Some go down into the potato but others to just under the surface.  I have not found any slugs in the ground at all (well not large enough for me to see anyway).  The ground is well drained but the problem seems to be restricted to one small corner.  The only things I have found in the earth are these small millipede/centipede looking creatures.

[Hugh_Jones]

First, to try and pin down what you have found, when you disturb them do they tend to curl up or move away slowly, or do they scuttle away quickly.  If the former then they are probably millipedes (although the colour is rather unusual); if the latter then they are undoubtedly centipedes and most definitely goodies (they attack centipedes, leatherjackets, and even small slugs).  Millipedes tend to be much darker, although there is a very small whiyte version commonly called `white worms`.

The damage to your potatoes may well have been caused by wireworm, although in that case you would expect to find the odd one in a damaged potato. It could equally well be tiny subsurface slugs or millipedes.

[Bath_Bun]

Hi

They certainly don't curl up, they tend to wriggle as I catch them, but are pretty fast moving.  There are more creamy yellow ones than chestnut.  

I have separated the damaged potatoes but have yet to find anything inside any of them.  None of them have been badly damaged enough to throw the whole tuber away.  Most of them I have been able to cut away any bad bits.

I will be using crop rotation for next year.  Are there any suggestions for the best crop to use on this piece of ground next year that will not be affected (I presume any root crop could potentially be affected).  I wondered if onions would be better though don't want to run the risk of them being damaged.  Perhaps another compost bin might be the answer.

[Hugh_Jones]

Beans/Peas seems an obvious choice, or brassicas; this will give you the opportunity to lime (if you consider it necessary) before the potatoes come round again in the 4 year rotation.  Failing that, carrots/parsnips (but no manure or compost), in which case a quick sowing of mustard now as a green manure will help reduce  any level of wireworm and will certainly reduce the slug population.

However, your best plan is to sit down with a large sheet of paper, list everything you wish to grow, and then work out a comprehensive 4 year rotation plan, otherwise you are almost certain to reach the point where like is having to follow like to fit in.

[ina]

Ahh, thanks Hugh. So the centipedes are goodies and scuttle away quickly, the millipededs are baddies and curl up or move away slowly. I wrote it in my little abc veggie soup lottie book. No need to count legs hehehe.

[Hugh_Jones]

Ina, if you look up the thread "Potato Pest" on the Pests & Diseases Board you will find a couple of links to sites with all the pictures.

[Hugh_Jones]

No Mega. It could not possibly be potato eelworm, which damage (or in severe infestations even kill) the whole plant, but do not make holes in the potato itself.  Plants affected by eelworm become yellow in the lower stems, the symptoms gradually spreading up the plant, and the whole plant becomes stunted. The potatoes resulting are small.  The eelworm actually cause cysts on the skin of the potato - living inside the cysts until it is time for them to burst out again to spread the infestation.

[Hugh_Jones]

You can only see potato eelworms with a microscope.

[louise stella]

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm


This has good pictures of the little blighters!

Louise

[kt.]

Ahh, thanks Hugh. So the centipedes are goodies and scuttle away quickly, the millipededs are baddies and curl up or move away slowly. I wrote it in my little abc veggie soup lottie book. No need to count legs hehehe.

Put that in my PC top tips file. You should post that on TOP TIPS on this site.

[Blue Bird]

Have just finished harvesting my King Edward crop for winter storage.  However some
Is it a good year for spuds this year?  I have harvested 137lbs off of a 3kg bag of seed potatoes.  As this is a first year on the allotment for me can anyone tell me if this is good?  I also harvested 58lbs of Arran Pilot and 65lbs of Wilja, each of those off of 3 kg bags of seed potatoes.

The price of potates has increased 40% this year so frozen chips and potato product will be going up - this has not been widely published outside the catering and farming industries

BB  :o :o