Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SPUD HARVEST TO COME A CROPPER 70%
Heavy rain causing rot in potatoes
HEAVY rainfall in recent months has put the potato crop at risk and could lead to profit losses for farmers.
Thomas Mckeown from The Irish Farmers’ Association says 70% of the staple food is still in the ground.
Usually around this time of the year just 30% would be awaiting harvest.
Mr Mckeown told the Mirror that leaving potatoes in soils saturated in water can ultimately lead to them rotting, making crops impossible to sell.
He said: “We put the potatoes into fridges and we have to dry them.
“Before you drop the temperature you let them cure and you would dry them and it’s taking twice as long to dry them.
“If you don’t dry them out properly, if you have issues with rot they’ll get worse.”
Around half of the country’s potatoes are grown in the north east of the country, which was hit with heavy rainfall throughout August and September.
And Mr Mckeown said it’s unlikely the weather conditions will improve in the coming months.
He added: “If you had two good weeks you would be OK but at the minute there is no sign of two good weeks coming.
“We’re going to have more losses this year due to the wet.”
Michael Hennessy, chief of the Republic’s farm advisory body Teagasc, has warned that leaving potatoes in wet soil can lead to issues with other crops.
He said: “The problem is that the potatoes have already been sitting in a watery soil for the last three or four weeks and if they continue to stay in that, you’re going to get more and more problems in the field.”
How much of the crops are currently in ground – it should be 30%