Potato Review

26 POTATO REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2022 HAULM DESTRUCTION A NNUALLY advising on 500ha of potatoes across Moray, Inverness- shire, Black Isle and Easter Ross, Agrii agronomist Ed Scaman is quick to acknowledge the unique challenges he faces each season when working with potato growers based in Northern Scotland, where sustained dry weather windows are both rare and often difficult to predict. Of course, adverse weather and soil temperatures dictate all areas of potato production, from planting dates through to both weed and blight control. But, as the growing Adopting a flexible approach when the weather doesn’t always play ball Scottish agronomist responds to the challenges of potato haulm desiccation in the North-East Highlands. season ends, crop desiccation - in particular, can be the toughest challenge when so much of the strategy planning is based around establishing a dry weather window, said Ed. “Colder early season soil temperatures and shorter summers mean we plant later and tend to harvest much earlier and it’s this compressed season that dictates every aspect of crop management. Inclement early season weather can often lead to a wide variation in emergence times and because of our summer humidity combined with generally higher rainfall, both late blight (Phytophthora Agrii agronomist Ed Scaman is quick to acknowledge the unique challenges he faces each season when working with potato growers based in Moray, Inverness-shire, Black Isle and Easter Ross. Sustained dry weather windows are both rare and often difficult to predict in Northern Scotland.