A normal PEI potato crop looks good after past couple of years

After two straight subpar autumns, potato growers on Prince Edward Island, Canada, are breathing a sigh of relief that 2010 has gone so well.

The island had as good a summer for growing potatoes as Greg Donald, general manager of the Charlottetown-based Prince Edward Island Potato Board, has seen in several years.

A week of dry, hot, windy weather at the end of August, however, left growers concerned, Donald said.

“It took the fizz out of the beautiful-looking fields,” he said. “Growers were particularly concerned about the burbanks.”

But the favorable weather returned, Donald said, and as of Oct. 21, with the crop 80% harvested, growers were happy — particularly compared with how they felt the past two years, when excessive rains in the fall plagued harvests.

“We’re pleasantly surprised with how they turned out so well,” he said.

The contrast between last season and this season could not be more stark, said Gary Linkletter, president and co-owner of Linkletter Farms Ltd., Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

“Last fall was the worst fall ever, and this is probably the best,” he said.

Linkletter Farms wrapped up harvest Oct. 19 — its earliest finish ever, Linkletter said.