News on Potato Cultivation

This year has seen the latest ever planting of early potatoes in Northern Ireland as farmers battle poor weather conditions, according to industry leaders.

In Cambodia, researchers at the Potato Research Centre at the Royal University of Agriculture announced last week that five provinces and the capital itself will become the country's hub for potato growing after successful tests of a range of potato varieties were recently finished.

The South Florida potato harvest season has started well, with a good healthy crop taking shape. It has been underway for just over a month and despite cooler weather at the start of the year, South Florida crops escaped any major frost damage.

Late Blight control strategies in the United Kingdom will have to change this season if potato growers are to combat the spread of a new aggressive, fungicide-insensitive/ resistant strain of the disease, leading agronomy firm Hutchinsons says.

By analysing potato production data, information systems specialist Professor Wolfgang Maaß and his team want to help farmers and food companies identify potential benefits and optimize their processes.

Dewulf, full-line supplier of potato and root crop equipment, has officially inaugurated its new logistics
centre (SLC) at its headquarters in Roeselare, Belgium

As a result of the uncertainty regarding the reapproval of the active ingredient Diquat the potato industry made an effort to identify alternative solutions for haulm desiccation. Haulm killing with high-voltage electrical current showed the greatest chances of success.

Although PCN testing of soil for seed potato cultivation is typically strictly regulated, different procedures are in use for the testing of soil for ware potatoes - and which one is used has huge consequences for the reliability.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson says he is anticipating that Jamaica will achieve its goal of 100 per cent self-sufficiency in the production of table Irish potato this year.

Grimme Ireland recently moved to a newly constructed Sales and Service Center for its Agricultural Machinery on a one hectare plot in Balbriggan, 25 km North of Dublin.

The USDA reported the preliminary estimated value for the Idaho® Potato crop of 2017 at USD 1.2 billion, a 22.7% leap from the previous year.

Villagers of the Districts of Yawe and Tavuki (in the province Kadavu, Fiji) heard that the government was promoting potato farming in a select few provinces of Fiji and that Kadavu was one of them.

Potato growers of the Thakurgaon district, Bangladesh are worried that they might not be able to recover the production cost due to sudden drop in the prices of the vegetable in the ongoing harvesting season.

Estonian Potato Growers who were unable to harvest part of their crops due to excessive rainfall last fall will receive financial support from their government.

The North-Western European Potato Growers report on volume and condition of the potatoes still in storage

Northern Plains Potato Growers Association (NPPGA) president Chuck Gunnerson, announced his upcoming retirement at the February 20th, NPPGA Annual Meeting in East Grand Forks, MN.

To deal with climate pressures, potato growers in Kenya are turning to contract farming to earn more money and get better seed.

When some Colombian potato varieties are lightly grazed by a pest, the plants respond by growing larger tubers, at times doubling their yields. Researchers see an opportunity and want to know more...