The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Potato farm open day preview
It remains to be seen whether or not new techniques and treatments will yield results and ensure that spuds will become the pick of the crop in Perthshire holding
This promises to be an exciting year for AHDB’s Strategic Potato (SPot) Farm at Bruce Farms in Perthshire.
AHDB Knowledge Exchange manager Claire Hodge explained: “This year we are significantly boosting the precision farming element.
“Farmers now have access to a wide range of equipment and data but it’s not clear which of these can make a real difference to the bottom line, which is where we come in.”
Working with Soil Essentials, the farm will collect data from low-res satellite imagery that will allow them to compare the SPot fields with potato fields across the country.
This will enable them to compare treatments and measure canopy development.
They will also use higher-resolution satellite images to monitor the crop canopy, allowing them to more effectively plan and target the use of nitrogen.
The final focus will be irrigation, scheduled using a radar measuring soil moisture, temperature and water in the crop.
Claire said: “Over the course of the season, we will use the data gathered to adapt our management of the potato demonstrations and at the end of it, we will be able to report to growers where
We will be able to report to growers where we have seen benefits, particularly in terms of the cost of the investment. AHDB KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE MANAGER CLAIRE HODGE
we have seen benefits, particularly in terms of the cost of the investment.”
Seed spacing will also be explored in more depth as last season suggested using wider spacing could be beneficial.
The team will also continue cultivation and nutrition trials.
Previous cultivation trials have shown that where bedtilling is removed completely, the cost of production reduced while packed yield increased.
The standout performer this year was the triple bedtiller which achieved a packed yield of 43 tonnes at a cost of just £59 per hectare. The control plot yielded only 28 tonnes at £82 per hectare.
Bruce Farms potato manager Kerr Howatson said: “There is clearly a trend on the farm which shows that reducing the number of cultivations, and the depth, does have a positive effect.”
As well as testing the triple bedtiller once more, there will also be a control plot( bed tilling, bed forming and de-stoning at 12in) and a third one that uses the cultivation method recommended by NIAB CUF which removes bedtilling completely and de-stones at the shallower depth of 11in.
On the nutrition side, there will be four trial plots which will vary the amount of nitrogen applied to the crop.
In the 2017-18 trials, the top one in terms of yield and packout percentage was the plot with no top dressing at all.
“We’re keen to prove that making changes in key areas does add real value and isn’t simply a one-off,” said Claire.
The open day at Bruce Farms is on July 10.