If potato stems and leaves are blackening and looking very sad they probably have potato blight, and the leaves should be removed.
Cut (don’t pull) all the foliage & stems off the plant at soil level & put it on the compost heap. This will stop the blight spores being washed down from the foliage onto the tubers, which would cause tuber blight.
potato-blight
Once all the foliage has been cleared from the bed, the potatoes will need to be left in the soil for at least two weeks, for the skins to set.
If you want to store these potatoes for winter it is important that the skins are set & do not scratch off easily if rubbed with a thumb nail. Skins start to set the moment the potato tops are removed by hand, or when the tops start to die back naturally.
Once blight is in the crop it spreads very quickly in wet humid weather. It will only slow down if the conditions are exceptionally wet and dry.
blight-on-leaf-tips
If only the odd leaf is affected, blight spray may stop it, but it is very difficult to get the coverage on the lower leaves and stems. By now, there is probably a good crop, so it is as well to remove all the tops. Check the size of the tubers, to get the confidence to remove all the tops!
Click this link for more information on controlling potato blight.
Keep checking potato leaves and if they are going black they probably have potato blight.
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