Potato yields have declined year on year by approximately 10 to 15% in 2022, Teagasc has confirmed. Looking back on National Potato Day (Friday, October 7) on the 2022 growing season there were a number of factors that came into play which heavily impacted on this year’s yields, as Richard Halleron reports for Agriland.
Chief among these were the drought-like conditions that impacted in many areas and varying soil conditions. The availability, or not, of irrigation facilities has also had a major impact on potato yields this year.
“In some areas the fall-off in yield has been significantly greater than 15%,” said Shay Phelan, Teagasc potato specialist. “In these cases, the combined impact of the dry weather, lighter soils and little or no access to irrigation systems have all come into play.”
According to the Teagasc potato specialist, growers are very conscious of the enhanced storage costs they are currently facing. Phelan said, “The fact is that every cost incurred by potato growers has rocketed over the past number of months: fuel, the price of seed, servicing charges and the cost of storage.“
Source: Agriland. Read the full story here
Photo: Credit Agriland
