Sounds odd that the row right next to the russets is normal. I wonder what happened to the Russets? Still it sounds like a pretty good year for some others.
What is really hard to understand is that the russets were certified seed potatoes; the German’s were saved from last season’s crop.
I prepped the ground, putting on amendments east-west, and tilled them in north to south, and ran the rows north to south, so any soil borne problems should have shown up in a band across the rows, not down them. I just have to chalk it up to bad stock, certified or not.
Next year, I don’t care what, I WILL find the Russet Burbanks I wanted, which have done well for me in the past. Couldn’t get any this year locally, and by then it was too late to mail order. I didn’t save any Burbanks because I could buy them locally.
And, yes, other stuff is doing well, for the most part.