In the run-up to PotatoEurope 2018, Dr. Rolf Peters from PotatoConsult UG in Germany describes the challenges and technology developments in planting seed potatoes. Demonstrations of planting technology will take place at the event, at Bockerode, near Hanover, on 12/13 September. According to Dr Peters, the planting of seed potatoes has developed into a highly complex step in crop cultivation. In addition to having to handle a comparatively large amount of seed – an average 2.5 tonnes/hectare, farmers have to manage seed bed preparation and fertilizer applications very precisely, and the process might also include treatment applications against seed- and soil-borne pests, as well as precise ridge formation.
However, the basic task of potato planting is still to place the tubers in the ground, the correct way up, at a constant depth and in a uniform pattern that may see the distance between the tubers change depending on the different utilization of the harvested crop. Read more in this press release on the PotatoEurope website
