Not all phosphorus-based fertilizers are created equal. For this reason, achieving adequate and well-timed phosphorus nutrition in potatoes can prove complicated and – if managed incorrectly – unnecessarily costly. Consider...
Read moreHollow heart is an internal disorder where a 'lens' or 'star'-shaped cavity forms in the potato tuber. Some varieties are more susceptible than others but, under predisposing conditions, most varieties can be...
Read moreSoil health plays a key role in the prevention and management of soilborne potato diseases. Robert Larkin, a USDA-ARS research plant pathologist based in Maine, discussed the different ways crops...
Read moreForecast models are a good tool for starting the spraying process. However, it is important to control the potato whipping yourself. If the past two years have brought an advantage, it...
Read moreIt’s easy to batter and bruise potatoes during harvest operations. This serious problem costs growers, packers, and processors millions of dollars every year. Let’s look at the most common types...
Read moreIncorporating a cover crop into commercially grown potatoes could help with soil health and pest pressures. Research is being conducted in Michigan's northern Lower and Upper Peninsulas. I recently attended...
Read moreCover crops are crops which are not sown to be harvested but rather to be incorporated in the soil at some point in their growth. In potato farming, cover crops...
Read moreAlthough metam fumigants—metam sodium and metam potassium—have proven to be extremely reliable for suppressing weeds, disease and nematodes in potato fields for more than four decades, recent discoveries have confirmed...
Read moreWhat nurse crops assist potato production? An AAFC team investigates nurse crops that boost seedling success and yields. As with any field crop, young potato plants face many threats. Erosion,...
Read more