Potato leafroll virus
PLRV is the most damaging potato virus, spread by aphids, mainly the peach-potato aphid. Leaf edges roll upwards, the plant is dwarfed and yield can halve. There is no cure.
Symptom photos
Symptoms
- Leaf edges rolled upwards, the blade stiff and rustling
- Leaves yellowing, often with a reddish or purple tint
- Dwarfing and a stiff, upright habit
- Small tubers, with net necrosis in the flesh in susceptible varieties
- Symptoms strongest in plants grown from infected seed tubers
What it does to the crop
- Tuber yield down by as much as 50%
- Unmarketable tubers where net necrosis develops
- Varieties degenerating when home-saved seed is replanted repeatedly
- No way to cure an infected plant
What encourages it
- Plentiful aphids, above all the peach-potato aphid
- Planting home-saved, uncertified seed potatoes
- Warm weather encouraging aphid flights
- Volunteers and overwintered tubers acting as a virus source
Prevention
- Plant certified seed potatoes every year
- Control the aphids that carry the virus
- Remove plants showing symptoms together with the mother tuber
- Destroy volunteers and overwintered tubers
- Kill off the haulm early, before peak aphid flight
⚠️ Before you reach for a spray
This atlas is informational and still growing — different diseases can look almost identical. Confirm the diagnosis and read the product label before applying any plant protection product. If you are unsure, ask your local extension or advisory service.
Keep the disease atlas with you in the garden
In the app you can identify a disease from photos, work out the spray dose for your own bed and log the treatment in your task calendar. Free, no sign-up, works offline.
Open the atlas in the app →