We harvest potatoes when the new foliage of the potato plant turns yellow and starts to wilt (and eventually it dies back). This is a natural process. It indicates that your potatoes are ready to harvest. In this article, I will not discuss natural leaf yellowing.
If you notice, some of the leaves of your potato plant is turning yellow (or maybe most of the leaves), some of the leaves are still green at the same time and the plant is not mature enough, it's time to worry.
In this guide, you will get to know what to do when you see potato leaves turning yellow.
If you have come across some other articles on this same topic, you are already confused. There might be multiple reasons, and you are the one whose duty is to figure out the exact reason and treat it accordingly.
To make it easier for you, I will give you some tips to figure out the reason accurately.
The most common reasons are:
- Watering issue.
- Sunlight issue.
- Nutrient issue.
How would you know if the leaves are turning yellow due to overwatering?
If your potato plant is overwatered, you will notice mushy stems and leaf stalks along with yellow leaves. Some of the leaves will be wilted, too. It's due to root rot.
Potato healthy leaves are also mushy, so it will be difficult for you to identify if it's due to overwatering or not. I suggest you check the color of the leaf stalks. For overwatering, the stalks will also turn yellow.
How to fix this?
It's hard. Add some perlite to the soil.
To be honest, it's almost impossible to save an overwatered plant.
How would you know if it's due to underwatering?
The leaves will mostly be yellow, not the leaf stalks.
Due to underwatering (even during the daytime when the sun is above the head), even the green, healthy leaves might be wilted.
Water regularly to keep to soil moist. It will be fixed soon.
Potato plant loves water, but not the standing water in the soil. Make sure the soil is a bit sandy. Mix perlite if possible. The water should be drained properly.
Yellow leaves on the potato plant - due to nutrient deficiencies
You will need to understand how nitrogen works on potato plants.
Potato plant redirects nitrogen to new growth. This is why, due to a lack of nitrogen, the older leaves turn yellow quickly. It may look natural for older leaves to yellow. But not always.
And the second nutrient is potassium. Due to potassium deficiency, the edges of the leaves will start turning yellow first. Then it will spread between the veins.
Ignore white-muddy spots on the leaves. Those spots are a residue of muddy water.
The chemical fertilizer mainly contains these three:
N-P-K (Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potassium)
Nitrogen is for green growth, Phosphorus is for root or tuber (potato) growth, and Potassium is for overall health.
It's better to use a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10. But as your potato plant leaves are turning yellow, it's better to use 20-10-10.
Note: Only fertilize if you are sure that it is due to nutrient deficiency. For a overwatered plant, more fertilizer will kill the plant for sure.
Subscribe to this site if you are a vegetable gardener like me. You will receive unique gardening tips from my site.
