storing potatoes from community plots

[David Marek]

I am new to winter storage of potatoes. I have a few different areas for growing, but am wondering if it is risky to grow seed potatoes for next year at the community garden plots. Potato beetles are present but aphids, thrips, etc. aren't much different from anywhere else. I have a rotation of no less than four years before repeating a crop in a particular block. I have access to a root cellar, and probably won't need to worry about filling it. My main concern at the moment is avoiding the spread of disease, but any other tips are most welcome.
David

[Tom Wagner]

Transplanting potato seedlings from TPS would carry no disease and that would be an excellent way to not spread disease.

From tubers--that is a different story---potatoes seem to pick up one or more of the dreaded virus groups and each year even certified seed potatoes replanted often pick up a higher % of virus. I would rouge any obviouosly diseased plant as soon as you see them. Diseased plants may be stunted, twisted foliage, mottled green and yellow colors, or even totally yellow. Pull those out and dispose of them trying not to touch healthy plants with those hands with sap on them. The potato with the most aphids, beetles, etc. could be pulled outright since the defense toxins are low.

I wouldn't worry too much as most folks are not going to save their potatoes to plant again. Latent year infections from yours on to your neighbor's plants will not reduce the yields too much either

I don't want to get into all kinds of specifics but this will give you some insight from someone who plants next to other potato plots quite frequently.

Tom

[David Marek]

Thanks, Tom. I forgot to mention my reason for doing this would be to multiply out TPS selections. If nothing else I can just use the community plot area for ones I plan to eat. Not too many people there grow potatoes, and are at least a hundred or so feet away, but bugs can fly.

I have found sources selling virused canna bulbs- the bulbs look ok, but only about half of them grow and those that do are severely distorted, and sure enough, it gets worse each year (I don't grow them, I have only observed it). Makes me worry about the old varieties (virus- free) that friends have grown for years, if they look for something new they risk infecting the others when they dig the rhizomes. Seems growers have spread the common varieties around so much that, by my understanding, breeders kind of need to start from scratch in order to get virus free stock for tissue culture.

Anyway, most of what I see at the plots is healthy. Some of the people use the white powder, not sure what that is from looking, I haven't caught them in the act! I'll be sure to clean my tools periodically.

Good point on the bug- infested ones. The only time I have seen virus on tomatoes, the plant was covered with aphids, and I didn't pull it as soon as I should have.