Wireworm In potatoes????

raisedbed · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 20

Hi all,
I'm a beginner vegetable grower this year and have planted potatoes (British Queens) in a few of my raised beds, Out of curiosity and the want to see what way and how quick things grow I said I would sacrifice a seed after 2 weeks.I went out today and dug up 1 of the seeds (planted the saturday after Paddy's day) and on inspection found some kind of grub sticking out of the seed(by looking online it looks like a wireworm?).I purchased a load of topsoil last year and put it into the raised beds,no manure, fertiliser or pesticides has been applied to the beds. Im looking for advice on the best way to move forward here as I dont want my crop to fail on the 1st attempt,Should I treat the soil with a pesticide?should i be applying some kind of vertiliser now or is my crop beyond saving???.I've tried to attach a picture but its 1.18MB and wont let me post it

James Kilkelly · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:32 pm Post subject:

raisedbed, there is no chemical wireworm control on the market for the home gardener.
I have compliled most solutions in this article......How to manage the top two potato pests, Wireworm and Slugs.

michael brenock · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:39 am Post subject:

you got the wireworms in with the soil and while the damage to the seed potato is bad it is far worse when it transfers on to the developing potato. the wire worm is a small yellow /brown maggot smooth skinned about half inch long. it is unlikely that eggs were laid by the beetle and hatched out already, you almost certainly got them with the soil. without resorting to chemicals just fork over the soil and remove any worm you might come across.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

raisedbed · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 20

Thanks guys for the replies,I was onto a local garden center and the man that owns it has a chemical (I cant rem. the name) but he says it will kill everything thats in the ground ie vine weevil etc etc, Is this a good idea or is it not good to have certain incects in your ground.Ive also resized the picture of the culprit that was in my seed,Is it wireworm?

James Kilkelly · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:55 am Post subject:

sirpsycho · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:01 pm Post subject:

from google images...

raisedbed · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 20

Found out the name James its called Sipyrfos (48 i think) I tried looking it up but cant seem to get much info on it,have you heard of it before,also the man in the center said if there is wireworm in the ground you cant grow spuds in it for 7 years,is this true?and if it is true what could I grow in the beds were the potatoes are in?

Michael196 · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:15 pm Post subject:

My understanding is that wireworm is common is new soil , i.e. newly transported or relaocted, and dies out with time. I had a new raised bed last year with trasnsplanted soil and got a wireworm problem in the soil. this years digging over , i removed and killed any wireworm i found and left them for the birds. In one patch i found a concentration of wire worm with the remainder of the veg patch relativly free of wire worm . Consider that your infestation may be localised to a particular spot or location, dig about a bit and kill any u find, but dont assume whole crop affected .

James Kilkelly · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 1:15 am Post subject:

raisedbed · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Posts: 20

Thanks all for the great replies,my brother recommended this site to me and he was right, it is great to be able to find answers from experienced people than reading through a book for answers.
James I was happy to see the amount of different things that i can still plant so thanks for your reply.
What I am going to do is let my potatoes run its course and if they are wiped out when i go to dig them I will know then for definite.I will take a few pics throughout the growing time of the crop as well as when i harvest them and if they are destroyed I will post a few pics on this thread so other members can see the damage inflicted by wireworm.(I will leave out the 1 of me sitting in the corner of my garden crying like a new born lol)

michael brenock · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 9:47 pm Post subject:

chlorpyriphos was sold in the past on an approved list as Dursban for the prevention and control of carrot root fly. Dursban is a rather dangerous product and has mood altering qualities so avoid it. Plants were usually sprayed with it in controlled (enclosed areas) before they are planted out. Avoid it.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)