No-nonsense, no-frills news stories from around the world
Dr Jiwan Palta, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, is a recognized world expert on Calcium nutrition. He is a key speaker at many potato conferences, and we are fortunate that over the years, he has given 4 outstanding presentations at the Ontario Potato Conference. Jiwan has made important contributions to clarify the role of calcium in potato production. In this article, Dr Eugenia Banks at the Ontario Potato Board makes a short summary of some of these.
Improving the reliability of trap cropping to help farmers overcome potato cyst nematode (PCN) pressure, is being investigated as part of a new feasibility study, funded by Defra and Innovate UK. The project will look at ‘DeCyst solanaceous’ trap crops, which stimulate PCN to hatch at a different point in the rotation to when potatoes are planted. As a result, mature female PCN are prevented from completing their lifecycle, reducing the impact on potato crops.
Currently, the traditional way to find out whether or not a potato is good to go to market is basic and old-fashioned – cut it open and look to see if there are defects. A new research project at Lethbridge College aims to use cutting-edge near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging technology to test potato quality such as internal defects, greening and specific gravity more quickly and efficiently.
Researchers will be testing genetically modified potatoes in Bangladesh and Indonesia this year in hopes of providing farmers with an alternative to spraying fungicides. Multiple confined field trials of GM late blight-resistant (LBR) potatoes will be conducted in both countries under a Feed the Future Global Biotech Potato Partnership. Late blight disease is a serious problem in both countries, destroying 25 to 57 percent of the crop.
At times, potato growers may experience poor emergence of potato plants. There are number of reasons why potato plants may not emerge properly. Potato specialists Andy Robinson, Eugenia Banks and Steven B. Johnson have compiled a list of common problems that can cause poor potato emergence and stand. Utilizing this list can help growers more rapidly identify the cause and improve management of the crop and subsequent crops.
University of Idaho entomology doctoral student Kelie Yoho’s research suggests mineral oils could offer an environmentally friendly tool to help potato seed growers avoid losses to potato virus Y (PVY). U of I master’s student Nathan Gelles has studied promising methods to promote sprouting in freshly harvested potatoes.
Farmers throughout southern and eastern Idaho were befuddled by the bizarre symptoms of crop damage that surfaced in their potato fields following a brief period of heavy rainfall in May of 2017. Pam Hutchinson, University of Idaho Extension potato cropping systems weed specialist, has studied the problem – heavy rains prior to potato emergence can move herbicides too deep into the soil, where they’re more accessible by shoots and tuber roots than usual, which could, in turn, cause crop damage.
Traditionally, potato producers in Canada use the late fall to prep their potato beds for the following spring. The long-established process has its benefits, but also creates concerns, including loss of soil fertility. A new research project at Lethbridge College will work to determine what steps can be taken to ensure the best result for producers, while also moving towards environmentally sustainable agriculture practices.
The recently introduced KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station has been updated to provide growers with field-specific data related to evapotranspiration and growing degree days — key factors in managing for enhanced crop performance and more efficient irrigation.
Syngenta Canada Inc. announced it has secured exclusive rights to distribute Azotic Technologies’ nitrogen-fixing biological, Envita, in Canada. Envita is registered for use on a wide range of crops, including but not limited to potatoes, corn, canola, cereals, and soybeans. Envita is a biofertility product featuring a food-grade strain of the bacteria Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus.
HarvestEye – a machine-learning driven crop insights tool – is heading to the World Potato Congress at the end of May, as it continues to showcase on the global agricultural stage the actionable insights it places in the hands of growers. It comprises of a patented technology that provides timely insights on root crops as they are lifted – presenting growers with valuable information on the size and count over a whole field.
Plants can’t speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs, such as shriveling or browning leaves, don’t start until it’s too late. Now, researchers have created a wearable sensor for leaves that shares data to a smartphone app and website about the percent of water content lost by the plant.
Phosphorous is an essential part of the equation for all crops, but particularly for potato growers. But providing P to the crop isn’t always straightforward. Unium Bioscience has recently launched its nutrient-biostimulant product, Luxor, to help growers maximise the availability of P. What exactly is Luxor and how does it work?
A New Brunswick company on the cutting edge of the province’s agricultural industry has just closed a $300,000 pre-seed investment round. The money will help Picketa Systems deploy its instant plant nutrient sampling technology into Atlantic Canada’s potato industry. “We’re developing real-time plant tissue analysis to be able to instantly tell farmers what nutrient concentrations their plants are, and what to buy,” founder and CEO Hébert-Couturier told Huddle.
Potato planting in Britain has got off to a good start this season, with the dry conditions in some areas not expected to affect emergence. Velcourt Advisory Services agronomist Patrick Levinge says soils have been left very dry by the lack of rain, but at this stage, it should not be having a negative impact on crop development. Common scab is likely to be an issue on susceptible varieties.
Launching Washington State University’s first distinguished program serving potato agriculture, Steve Culman will delve below the surface to keep a $7 billion Washington industry strong. Culman will address priorities in irrigated agriculture, including the need to better understand and protect the soil. Starting Aug. 1, 2022, Culman plans to meet with Washington potato growers, discuss their priorities, and identify short and long-term objectives.
Yara has recently established a new Incubator Farm in the Columbia Basin of Washington, aimed at exploring how a complete potato crop nutrition program that drives productivity and grower profitability can simultaneously lead to a reduced carbon footprint.
“The soft rot bacterium that causes seed piece decay is very common, and it has an extensive host range. It survives in soil and surface waters. Soft rot in potatoes is caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum,” says Dr Eugenia Banks, potato specialist with the Ontario Potato Board in Canada.
Double-digit cost inflation is hitting every single enterprise of British agriculture, casting doubt on the sector’s ability to maintain food supplies in the year ahead. Latest figures from the AF buying group shows that no farming enterprise has been able to avoid the impact of soaring costs, with cereals and oilseed producers seeing the greatest increases at 28%, followed by potatoes, dairy, and beef and lamb producers – all hit by inflation of more than 20%.
On March 29, Dr Jeff Miller from Miller Research in Idaho presented this webinar in collaboration with the Ontario Potato Board, coordinated by Dr Eugenia Banks and hosted by Potatoes in Canada magazine. A recording of the webinar is now available on YouTube.
Rabobank’s RaboResearch – Food & Agribusiness team released this research report recently. They say that higher fertilizer prices and/or a shortage of fertilizer supply resulting from the war in Ukraine will not have an immediate impact on food prices and/or food production. The first crop-growing regions to be ‘at risk’ are India and Latin America. India is partially out of danger, but Latin America is highly exposed.
“Growing potatoes can sometimes feel like it’s a constant battle. From seed import and export restrictions following the UK’s departure from the European Union to a shrinking armoury of crop protection products and pandemic-induced changes in consumer demand. Despite these challenges, potatoes can still be a financially rewarding crop.” This, according to a recent article posted online by Bayer Crop Science in the UK.
A new tool available for the 2022 season, the KestrelMet 6000 AG weather station provides farmers with a simple, cost-effective way to manage risk, create management timelines and achieve better irrigation efficiency.
This week PepsiCo Inc. announced several new innovations, investments and partnerships to progress against its ambition to be Net Water Positive by 2030. This includes developing a new technology to recover more than 50% of the water used in its potato chip manufacturing and to scale a groundbreaking drip irrigation technology across 25,000 acres.
Independent field trials have shown for a 4th year that Interagro’s amino acid + peptide biostimulant Bridgeway helps to combat the effects of heat stress in potato crops, enabling photosynthesis and tuberisation to be maintained. Importantly for growers it helped secure yield with significant increases and margin gains over untreated crops.
PepsiCo and N-Drip have announced a partnership to help farmers around the world adopt game-changing technology in water efficiency across 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) by 2025. N-Drip’s high-efficiency irrigation system is powered by gravity and harnesses the water-saving benefits of high-pressure drip irrigation.
