What to do if there are brown streaks inside the potatoes

Some diseases and damage to potatoes are completely invisible on the skin. It happens that when you cut into a healthy-looking tuber, you discover that inside it is lined with brown, black or red spots and veins. It is almost impossible to completely cut out the marks and it is unknown whether such potatoes can be eaten at all.

From the article you will learn what these veins mean, whether you can eat potatoes with colored stripes and spots, and how to avoid the appearance of brown veins and spots in tubers.

Why are there colored streaks inside potatoes?

More often brown stripes run closer to the edge along the circumference of the tubers. They may be mild in the initial stages of the disease. As the infection progresses, the streaks become more noticeable. When placed in water or pressed, they release a pale yellow mucus. This disease is bacterial and is called ring rot.

Important! The inside of a crop infected with ring rot may completely rot during storage.

Small veins and spots up to 2 cm long from brown to black are caused by glandular spotting. They are located closer to the center or scattered over the entire surface. The disease does not develop during storage.

There are red veins, sometimes bluish or purple. This coloring of the pulp is normal; it is typical for varieties with colored skin.

Reasons for the appearance of veins inside potatoes

Ring rot has two forms - pit rot and ring rot itself.. Pit rot is the primary form of the disease. It appears 5-6 months after storage. Infection occurs from diseased tubers. The spread of the disease is facilitated by indoor conditions - temperature +20ºС or more and high humidity.

Symptoms of the lesion - small 2-3 mm yellow spots under the skin. It is difficult to notice them, for this reason infected tubers are often used for planting. They grow into bushes with ring rot. With a mild infection, the germination of sprouts will be normal, no signs of disease will appear until flowering. After harvest, if diseased tubers are not detected, the bacteria will continue to infect healthy potatoes. A constant cycle is formed - infection occurs from already infected tubers.

Important! The infection is transmitted through gardening tools. Treat it with antibacterial agents before and after digging up the vegetable.

External factors influence the occurrence of glandular spotting:

1. Weather. Rust appears if the summer was hot and dry. Even additional watering at a regular temperature of +30ºС and above does not help.
2. Soil composition. It should not contain excess iron and aluminum, which increase the activity of oxidative enzymes. Lack of phosphorus and potassium is also bad.

Most often, iron spot appears on potatoes grown in sandy soils.

But red, purple and bluish veins are not a disease at all. Their appearance is due to the fact that the coloring pigment spreads throughout the tuber both inside and outside. So don’t worry if you planted colored varieties and found stripes or solid color in the cut.

It can be useful:

Potato tops diseases: description and treatment

What to do if potatoes rot in the ground

How to deal with scab on potatoes

Is it possible to eat these potatoes?

Potatoes affected by ring rot cannot be eaten.. Even if you cut off the infected parts. And even if the potatoes undergo heat treatment. Bacteria that cause rot can enter the body and cause poisoning, harm the digestive organs and lead to other unpleasant consequences.

Rust on potatoes is not so dangerous. This is a non-infectious disease that will not cause much harm to the body. You can eat such tubers, but their taste is worse. In addition, spots and veins look unappetizing, and cutting them all out is problematic.

Important! Tubers affected by glandular spot change their chemical composition and nutritional value - they contain less starch and ascorbic acid.

Harvest with colored streaks can be safely eaten. These varieties are rich in antioxidants; red varieties contain carotenoids and anthocyanins. It is best to puree them, bake and boil them with the peel on. They are less suitable for soup and frying because they crumble after prolonged heat treatment.

What to do if veins are detected - methods of control

It is impossible to save veined tubers. And if the rust does not spread to the next harvest and does not infect healthy tubers, then ring rot is extremely dangerous in this regard. From a diseased tuber, diseased tops and crops grow. And then the bacteria infect neighboring healthy bushes, as well as potatoes during storage.

A specific method of combating rot has not yet been established. Preventative measures are crucial.

Folk

In the early stages of diseases, try to do without treating the vegetable with heavy chemical artillery. Use the following techniques.

Help with ring rot:

1. Treatment with potassium permanganate solution. The disinfecting properties of the solution neutralize some bacteria. It is prepared in a proportion of 1 g per 10 liters of water. Spray the tubers and prepared soil before planting.
2. Formalin. Another disinfectant. The treatment is carried out before storing potatoes for storage. For 1 sq. m requires 20 ml of a 40% formaldehyde solution. The room is treated and closed for 12 hours, then ventilated.
3. Quarantine. Inspect potato tops regularly. Dig up affected bushes and burn them outside the site.

For glandular spotting:

1. Additional watering. If it’s a dry, hot summer, water the potatoes more often and do not allow the soil to dry out.
2. Special varieties. If the soil in your area is sandy, choose a more resistant and suitable variety.

Chemical

If the disease progresses, use chemicals. Chemical protection has proven itself to be an effective and universal method.

For ring rot before planting and then Before harvesting for storage, the tubers are processed according to your choice:

• fungicides “Maxim”, “Quadris”;
• general-spectrum insecticides “Sirocco”, “Tanrek”, “Borey Neo”;
• pesticide "TMTD".

In case of glandular spotting, there is no need to disinfect tubers with rust.. It is more important to take care of the quality of the soil and adequate nutrition of the plants.

Biological

Use bacterial preparations to control pests: “Gamair”, “Entobacterin”, “Dendrobacillin”.

Although pests do not directly affect the formation of veins, they cause mechanical damage to the tops and tubers - the plants become more vulnerable to bacterial damage.

Fertilizers

Enriching the soil with minerals stimulates plant development, accelerates growth and increases yield, and also causes the death of bacteria and destroys some pests.

Ring rot

Not only antibacterial agents will help in the fight against it.. It is also necessary to regularly saturate the soil with potassium and nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Potassium increases potato resistance to disease, strengthens the root system and enhances the effect of nitrogen fertilizers. Nitrogen is needed to stimulate the growth of shoots and leaves and the absorption of nutrients.

Iron spot

Enrich the soil with fertilizers:

1. Nitrogen. On sandy soils this is done in the spring to prevent leaching. Nitrate (potassium, sodium, ammonium) and urea (urea) are suitable for potatoes.
2. Phosphorus. Apply in the fall; by spring the compounds will become easily digestible. Suitable superphosphate, double superphosphate. For acidic soils, phosphate rock is used.

Liming works effectively against rust. This reduces the acidity of the soil, enriches it with magnesium, calcium and other microelements. The looseness of the soil also increases - moisture will be better absorbed and retained. They use chalk powder, shale and peat ash, belite and dolomite flour, etc.

Read also:

The best recipes for foliar feeding of potatoes

Potato sulfitation and why it is needed

Other

Use in combination with the methods described above.

With ring rot:

• the tops are mowed 7-10 days before digging to reduce the risk of infection;
• Before sowing, I dry the tubers in the sun for two days. It is recommended to do the same before storing.

You can fight veins and spots on potatoes by planting green manure. Legumes are suitable to combat pathogenic organisms and improve the condition of the soil: peas, beans, beans, clover, cereals, mustard and radish, sunflower, etc. Plants are replanted or sown before winter. In spring, the seedlings are mowed down and potatoes are planted.

Measures to prevent the appearance of veins

With ring rot:

1. Purchase seed material only from reliable suppliers. If you use your own, carefully sort the potatoes before planting and inspect them for diseases.
2. After digging, sort out any damaged tubers. They are most susceptible to infection.
3. Treat equipment before and after use to prevent bacteria from remaining on it.
4. Dry the potatoes in the sun before planting.
5. Observe storage conditions. Before cleaning for storage, disinfect the room.
6. Maintain a constant temperature. Ventilation must be good to avoid condensation causing mold.

For glandular spotting:

1. Harvest potatoes in dry, sunny weather.
2. Dry the tubers before storing them in a dry place with good ventilation and no light sources.
3. Whole, undamaged tubers are stored for storage, in a layer of no more than 1 m.
4. Maintain constant storage conditions - in a dark place at a temperature of 2-3°C, humidity - 80-90%.

Tips and tricks

If possible, observe crop rotation on the site. It is undesirable to plant the same vegetable crop in a certain area every year.. Constant sowing of one plant depletes the soil and reduces fertility. Infection with bacteria only makes the situation worse. Let the site rest for 1-2 years. At this time, disinfect the soil and fertilize it.

Early varieties are more susceptible to ring rot infection. Choose medium or late.

Regular weeding, pest control and affected bushes will benefit the potatoes.

To protect vegetables from diseases, start treatment with drugs at the first signs of disease.. In dry weather, carry out the procedure every 14 days, in rainy weather every week or even more often. Without treatment, infections can destroy 40-50% of the crop.

It is useful to know how your neighbors are dealing with plant diseases. If areas are located close together, your vegetable crops may also become infected.

Conclusion

Now you know that potatoes with red veins can be safely cooked and eaten. But tubers with dark stripes are not eaten - this is an infection, the pathogens of which can cause poisoning of the body and other troubles if ingested.

With our tips for prevention and treatment, you can easily cope with defects on tubers.