Growers urged to quantify costs
As crop production costs spiral, savings can be made across a range of potato inputs if you manage and monitor them carefully. This was the message for growers attending Potato Council’s East Midlands Potato Day near Spalding, Lincs.
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Residual herbicide restrictions make weed control difficult
Higher doses of the residual potato herbicide linuron will prove more tricky to replace than the contact herbicide, paraquat, according to John Keer of Agrochemex
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Potatoes in Practice focus on industry’s changing priorities
Potatoes in Practice takes place at Gourdie Farm, by Invergowrie, Dundee on August 7. Sponsored by Potato Council and hosted by SCRI, Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and CSC Potatocare, it is established as the leading field-based event for growers, merchants, seed suppliers, packers and processors to catch up on the latest potato-related research.
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Keep up robust protection against foliar and tuber blight through until harvest
Although not as severe as last year, there has been consistently high blight pressure as indicated by a run of Smith Periods throughout the early and mid-season and growers are being advised to keep spray intervals tight and to use robust fungicide treatments with both foliar and tuber blight protection from now on, according to Dow AgroSciences.
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In-crop control of volunteers with Fazor
Volunteer potatoes left behind from the previous year’s crop are one of the primary sources of blight inoculum and growers are being advised to think ahead to prevent the problem happening again next year. Growers are also being urged to plan an integrated control programme, including the application of the only in-crop solution, Fazor
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EU pesticide regulation moves closer to reality
EU plans to slash the number of pesticides used in farming moved a step closer on June 24th as European agriculture ministers voted in favour of new proposals. Read more about the implications.
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Success of Love Potatoes Campaign
Seven million more shoppers are already thinking more positively about potatoes, following the start of the Love Potatoes campaign this summer.
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Savings in store for new energy drive
Potato Council has launched a new on-farm drive to help growers take control of energy costs and identify where they can make savings estimated to be up to £11 million across the industry. A guide to Improving energy efficiency in potato stores includes advice, case studies and a what-to-buy kit guide
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CIPC stewardship group urges industry vigilance
Potato Council has issued a new guide and a new checklist to help growers ensure they stick to new limits on Chlorpropham (CIPC) usage. They warn that sprout suppressants must be used responsibly or growers risk losing them.
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Crop progress
Mid-late July
The Potato Council's first estimate of plantings for 2008 is 130,500 hectares, just 0.3% down on last year plantings of 130,800 ha's. Growers numbers are down by 4.2%, down to 2,750.
Main crops are looking healthy with plenty of canopy,although tuber development is behind. Total clearance of earlies is ahead of last year with total harvest on 14th July being 4061 ha, compared with 3027 ha at the same time last year. Yields are 15% behaind last years and are showing wide range from 25-34 t/ha, with an averge of 28 t/ha compared with 28-50 t/ha, average 33 t/ha last year.
Blight spraying is well underway with advice being to keep spray intervals tight. Rain and wet soils have disrupted some programmes however. 48 Blight infections have been confirmed in crops iright across the country, whilst blight in outgrade piles has been found in 9 locations, 8 as yet unconfirmed and 1 in volunteers. A run of Smith Periods indicates increasing blight risk. Growers should maintain a robust fungicide progarmme and to incorporate fungicides with tuber blight protection from now on.
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