Some herbicides can accumulate in daughter tubers if they drift onto or are accidentally applied to potato foliage. This can result in problems the following season when the tubers are used as seed. Herbicide carryover in potato seed can inhibit sprouting, delay emergence, and cause various sprout, stem, and leaf distortions. Click HERE to read an article in Growing Produce that discusses the types of herbicides that can accumulate in potatotubers, the symptoms they cause when used for seed, and what seed potato growers can do to avoid the problem. 

The pictures below show symptoms of herbicide carryover in potato seed. The symptoms shown in photos 1-3 were caused by glyphosate (e.g., Roundup), and the symptoms in photos 4-6 were caused by clopyralid (e.g., Stinger). All photos were taken by C. Wohleb, WSU Extension.