Potato plants need healthy leaves to produce a bountiful crop.
Learn six reasons your potato leaves are yellowing.
Sap-sucking pests like green peach and potato aphids cause discoloration and deformation that leads to yellow leaves.
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The leaves will eventually curl and the plant will die.
Overwatering or Underwatering
Potato plants are sensitive to moisture stress because of overwatering or underwatering.
The roots become waterlogged and can’t pass the moisture to the leaves.
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Soil Nutrients
Potatoes grow best in moderately acidic soil with a pH between 4.8 and 5.4.
An additional app should be done when the potato plants are about two feet in diameter.
A lack of nutrients can cause the leaves to turn yellow and reduce the harvest.
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Potatoes average 100 to 120 days to maturity, and the tubers should be harvested once the vines die.
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There are also commercial insecticides containing pyrethrins that can control pests.
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Unfortunately, there is no treatment for fungal wilt or mosaic virus.
Remove and discard diseased plants but do not compost these plants, as the pathogens spread via compost.
Look for potato seeds that are wilt-resistant when planting.
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Water Correctly
Potato plants need consistently moist soil, but never waterlogged roots.
Monitor the weather conditions and adjust irrigation accordingly to provide one to two inches of water per week.
Provide Nutrition
Potatoes should be planted in nutrient-rich soil and additional nutrients added during the growing season.
Management of Potato Diseases in the Home Garden.North Dakota State University.
