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Ripening TPS from immature berries
This is I guess a mini project of sorts, to see if it’s possible to get TPS to maturity inside when cut early due to disease or lateness of season.
I’ve several potato clones growing that I’d very much like to harvest some seed from, in order to make further selections and also some crosses I’d like to make for seed for next year. The yearly issue for me is Late Blight. Usually getting the 6 week period needed for the berries to grow to maturity, once they are pollinated and set is, a rarity. This year I planted very late (mid June), so although the potato patch missed the period in June when Blight struck many areas, the main patch was infected in August. It’s still bubbling away with a few newly infected leaves each day. It’s a bit of a death sentence for the home bred varieties I’m using in the Coloured Fingerling project, if they don’t get to set any tubers or mature seed pods its game over for those varieties.
2 weeks ago in an attempt to save a Charlotte x Blue Belle berry from infection I picked it along with part of its remaining healthy stem; it had been infected lower down on the plant and had a nasty looking black area spreading up the stem. The berry looked to be fully grown but would have only been a few weeks old, too immature for seed. I decided to trim back the leaf and place the cutting in water, with the aim of keeping it alive until mature enough to be able to harvest some viable seed. A couple of weeks on and I have a healthy looking potato stem and pod sitting in a jug of water, I’ve added a drop or two of Baby Bio for feed. So far it is looking good for Charlie Blue's chances to ripen and hopefully with ripe seed inside!
I’ve several potato clones growing that I’d very much like to harvest some seed from, in order to make further selections and also some crosses I’d like to make for seed for next year. The yearly issue for me is Late Blight. Usually getting the 6 week period needed for the berries to grow to maturity, once they are pollinated and set is, a rarity. This year I planted very late (mid June), so although the potato patch missed the period in June when Blight struck many areas, the main patch was infected in August. It’s still bubbling away with a few newly infected leaves each day. It’s a bit of a death sentence for the home bred varieties I’m using in the Coloured Fingerling project, if they don’t get to set any tubers or mature seed pods its game over for those varieties.
2 weeks ago in an attempt to save a Charlotte x Blue Belle berry from infection I picked it along with part of its remaining healthy stem; it had been infected lower down on the plant and had a nasty looking black area spreading up the stem. The berry looked to be fully grown but would have only been a few weeks old, too immature for seed. I decided to trim back the leaf and place the cutting in water, with the aim of keeping it alive until mature enough to be able to harvest some viable seed. A couple of weeks on and I have a healthy looking potato stem and pod sitting in a jug of water, I’ve added a drop or two of Baby Bio for feed. So far it is looking good for Charlie Blue's chances to ripen and hopefully with ripe seed inside!
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