Potato growers warned to wait for good conditions despite delay

Potato growers have been advised not to panic at the lateness of the season. It is better to wait another few days and plant in the right conditions rather than losing a couple of days’ growing time, according to Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board potato advisor, Claire Hodge.

Hodge admitted that after watching it rain for six weeks with traditional planting dates disappearing, it could be tempting to jump on the planter at the first break in the weather.

“But patience and risk mitigation now, can help prevent poor results come harvest,” she advised.

“For potato growers, yield loss due to late planting only really starts occurring after the first week in May in England. With long-

0 Traditional planting dates have come and gone er daylight hours in Scotland, this may be a few days later. The risks are associated with delayed emergence and the crop not reaching full cover by the longest day of the year.”

However, poor soil conditions can lead to compaction, with Mark Stalham of NIAB CUF reckoning it was “highly likely” a two to five tonne per hectare loss might occur.

Among other recommendations AHDB makes are changing seed rates, with the shorter season and potential compaction issues meaning that tuber size was likely to be smaller owing to lower yield. “Seed spacing needs to be widened to achieve the optimum size specification.”

A shorter growing season will reduce the nitrogen requirement for the crop.