Most Common Potato Pests & Diseases

You have problems with pests and diseases on potato plants in your garden or on your balcony?

Stick with me since I will show you how to get rid of potato pests and diseases in a proper manner.

Potato Pests

Pest	How to control it
Cutworms	Cutworms can do great damage to potato plants. Hence, make sure to get some tips and tricks on how to get rid of cutworms.
Potato beetles	Potato beetles are also quite common on potato plants. You can get rid of them using insecticidal soap or pesticides from the garden center.
Aphids	Aphids are annoying companions when growing potatoes. Hence, make sure to get some information on how to deter aphids.
Armyworms	Armyworms can also slow down the growth of potato plants. You can get rid of armyworms by removing them by hand or by using insecticidal soap from the garden center.
Leafhopper	Leafhoppers may also do significant damage to potato plants. You can get rid of them using pesticides. Alternatively, you can also try spraying neem oil onto your potato plants.
Grubs	Grubs may also populate potato plants. You can get rid of them using pesticides or insecticidal soap.
Bugs	There may also be all kinds of bugs present when growing potatoes that may try to feed on your plants. You can control them by using insecticidal soap or neem diatomite.
Whiteflies	Whiteflies are also quite common when growing potatoes at home. Hence, also make sure to get some hints on how to control whiteflies in your garden.
Wireworms	Wireworms may also try feeding on potato plants. You can get rid of wireworms spraying your plants with neem oil or pesticides.

Potato Diseases

Disease	How to control it
Mold	Mold is quite common on potato plants if you don’t assure proper airflows. Hence, make sure to get some information on how to get rid of plant mold.
Rust	Rust may be another issue when growing potatoes. Fortunately, there are easy ways how to control rust on garden plants.
Leaf spot	Leaf spot may also become an issue when growing potatoes at home. Thus, make sure to also inform yourself on how to control leaf spot.
Sunscald	Sunscald often becomes a problem if you expose your potato plants to too much intense sunlight. Hence, just move your plants to a partially shady spot to control sunscald in a proper manner.
Damping-off	Damping-off often happens to potato seedlings due to improper germination conditions. Hence, improve soil and lighting conditions as best as possible to prevent damping-off.
Blight	Blight is also often a problem when growing potatoes. Thus, make sure to get some information on how to get rid of early blight.
Downy mildew	Downy mildew is a fungal disease that can have a significant adverse effect on the growth of potato plants. You can get rid of downy mildew using fungicides from the garden center.
Powdery mildew	Powdery mildew also often occurs on potato plants. Hence, also inform yourself on how to control powdery mildew in your garden.
Common scab	Common scab may also occur on potato plants. You can get rid of it by improving soil conditions.
Root rot	You can prevent root rot by watering your plants less often and also by optimizing soil pH.
Brown rot	Brown rot often occurs when you don’t provide good air circulation and also don’t provide your plants with sufficient nutrients. Hence, add some fertilizer to the soil to control brown rot on potato plants.

Potato Pests & Diseases – Summary List

Pests	Diseases
Whiteflies	Leaf spot
Aphids	Plant rust
Cutworms	Mold
Armyworms	Damping-off
Grubs	Common scab
Leafhopper	Brown rot
Potato beetle	Root rot
Wireworms	Downy mildew
Bugs	Powdery mildew
	Blight
	Sunscald

How to deal with Potato Pests & Diseases?

Now that you got all the information you need to control potato pests and diseases at home, you may also want to have a look at my potato grower’s guide and my growing potato FAQ article to get further information about growing potatoes from seed to harvest.

Sources

https://corporate.aviko.com/en/about-the-potato

Own experience.