With the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) having to cut back its inspection programme in the midst of continued COVID pressures, alongside increasing aphid issues, Agrico has upped the level of technical support offered to seed potato growers. Charlotte Cunningham (@CharCunningham) reports for CPM (Crop Production Magazine).
For growers in England and Wales, the cutting back of APHA’s inspection programme and restriction of the number of inspections for basic seeds (field generations 3-5) presented problems.
As a result, Agrico has stepped up its technical support to growers, visiting registered seed crops multiple times and capturing drone footage to keep up to speed with developments.
Says Archie Gibson, executive director at Agrico UK:
