With many seed potato crops around Scotland coming up to size rapidly, potato growers are getting to grips with haulm destruction which will become part of the ‘new norm’ in the post-diquat era. So writes Dr Kyran Maloney, SRUC potato specialist, in this article published by The Scottish Farmer.
The good news is that there are still viable options to bring down even vigorous canopies, but a change of mindset is needed.
The industry standard is now to ‘flail-and-spray’. The canopy is destroyed with a pulveriser and one or more follow-up desiccant sprays are used to finish the job and to prevent regrowth.
Two products are approved for haulm destruction in potato crops
