most of my potatoes are dead or are dying...they wilt & ddie...pulled
them up to examine & at base of stem appears that some pest has gotten
inside the stem & eaten it away...did not see anything live...any
suggestions as to what it might be?

middle Georgia
My correct e-mail address is gn052 (not gn52)
Fake adddress given to avoid spams

Frank Thompson writes:

most of my potatoes are dead or are dying...they wilt &
ddie...pulled them up to examine & at base of stem appears that some
pest has gotten inside the stem & eaten it away...did not see
anything live...any suggestions as to what it might be?

Could be European Corn Borer. It wiped out most of our potato crop
last year, and the symptoms sound just like it. If you do a web
search, I'm sure you can find pictures of it to compare.


--
Aaron

Frank Thompson said:

most of my potatoes are dead or are dying...they wilt & ddie...pulled
them up to examine & at base of stem appears that some pest has gotten
inside the stem & eaten it away...did not see anything live...any
suggestions as to what it might be?

Plant pest handbook for potatoes:
http://www.caes.state.ct.us/PlantPes...%5Cpphpota.htm

Borers in potato:

Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer) -- eastern and central NA
Larvae tunnel into stems, weakening them so that they break; adult is a moth.
One to three generations per year.
Can be a problem, especially when potatoes follow corn

Trichobaris trinotata (Potato Stalk Borer) -- most of NA, except far west
Larvae hollow out stem of plants causing them to wilt and die; adult is weevil
One generation per year.
Eggs deposited singly into stems or leaf petioles.
Not usually a serious problem.

Papaipema nebris (common stalk borer) -- NA east of the Rocky Mountains
Larvae tunnel into stems; adult is a moth.
One generation per year
Normally feeds on grasses and weeds; not usually a serious potato pest

Phthorimaea operculella (Potato Tuberworm) -- Southern US
Larvae tunnel into stems and make burrows in tubers; adult is a small moth.
Eggs laid on leaves or on eyes of tuber.
Up to six generations per year.
*Serious pest of potatoes*
Control: http://www.aardappelpagina.nl/explor...instmthcon.htm
--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)