Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Wagner
Indy,
Those potatoes in those 'rivers' of water can cause some problems. First problem would be rhizoc and 2nd problem would be 'Pink Rot'. The tubers will probably be OK if the water drains out with two days...and if not...you may have to dig a deeper hole next to those 'rivers' to drain them out. Without air..oxygen....the tubers will try to defend themselves with swollen lenticels trying to capture oxygen. After the lenticels reach their limit to 'catch a breath of air' you will get lenticel rot. Hopefully you did not cut the tubers and the waterlogged soil will just make the tuber turgid with water.
Once the water has drained out...and dried just a bit...simply rake across the wet soil to aerate the surface. Wet compacted soil without raking will just continue the water-logging effect.
Too bad I did not send Indy crosses with my Nordic October in them. It is the only red potato tested by Cornell Univ that has good resistance to Pink Rot.
Potatoes started in soil too wet usually die earlier than dryer soil. Yields less too!
Tom Wagner
Here is a picture of swollen lenticels on potatoes....
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...ooTVyKATpBZR6w |
Well, he types with fingers crossed, the standing water was about 24 hours. It filled the day of the storm and finally drained by last night. Perhaps potato planters should check for "the worst storms since 1974!" in the forecast before they plant.
Anyway, today should be mild and dry and tomorrow should be dry and up to 70 degrees so hopefully the soils excessive wetness will be brief enough not to spoil my efforts. Indiana has the ability to have dramatic extremes in weather. My beautiful Greek wife came here in 2002 and was trying to understand our climate compared to the temperate, near perfect climate of Mediterranean Greece. After she experienced sweltering heat, frigid sub-zero temperatures, tornadoes, ice storms, blizzards and also some nice pleasant days, she is a veteran on the Mid West but the climate is hard to describe in simple terms to her friends and family back in Greece.