Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 29 VIRUS CONTROL The result is down to aphids’ host-finding behaviour. To them the contrast between potato foliage and straw is much lower than the contrast between potato foliage and bare soil. If you are planning to use wheat straw mulch in 2023 season on early field generation seed, lay aside and store straw in the coming days. To further improve control, we have seen an even greater response when using a straw mulch alongside mineral oils up to tuber initiation and alternating applications of systemic insecticides throughout the entire growing season. Maintaining insecticide programmes up to the point of complete haulm death is particularly important to reduce the incidence of virus late in the season. Haulm re-growth is more common in vigorous indeterminate varieties that have been flailed as the first treatment in the desiccation programme. This re-growth is particularly vulnerable to virus ingress in susceptible varieties. Susceptible varieties For those growing seed varieties which are more susceptible to virus, a post-burndown and pre-harvest tuber sample can help to give an indication of the primary and secondary virus incidence through the entire crop. If 100 tubers are tested and no virus is detected in the sample, you can be confident the sample result is below 4% virus. Growers should potentially test more tubers, ideally using at least 200 to proactively manage seed health, but there are cost implications. Milder winters are also increasing the number of groundkeepers that can survive from year to year particularly of some varieties such as Maris Piper, Cara and Desiree. Untreated groundkeepers in a cereal or vegetable crop can act as an early source of virus or foliar late blight, while also increasing Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) levels at least 14-fold within these localised specific groundkeeper zones. Targeting groundkeeper control with glyphosate in stubbles can therefore play a major role in improving seed health. Improved sprayer technology makes targeting more accurate and helps reduce input costs. Potato volunteers can be specifically detected with cameras mounted along the sprayer boom to target individual potato volunteers by switching spray nozzles on and off. Field evaluations have demonstrated a 77% saving in chemical use. This emerging technology also reduces any potential effects on the surrounding environment by targeting spray applications exactly to where they are required. No one technique will provide complete control in preserving seed potato health but by using plant protection products alongside IPM strategies and improved technology, seed health can be maintained to ensure growers get the best returns and the industry remains one of the leading providers of seed potatoes in the world. Scottish Agronomy is trialling IPM in seed potatoes at three sites in 2022, one in Kincardineshire and two in Fife. ‘In 2021, trials in Fife had very high pressure from colonising aphids, predominantly potato aphids but also from peach potato aphids.’ End of the Sunday roast? TRADITIONAL roast dinners where the roast potato takes pride of place could be on their way out, as the economy crunch takes its toll, according to the annual Good Food Nation survey from BBC Good Food. The survey of 2,005 adults and 1,007 children (aged five to 16) revealed that, of those who cook, 26% claim they are less likely to cook a Sunday roast and 18% have closed the oven door for good. POTATOGROWER AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP A POTATO grower is amongst the 2023 Nuffield Farming Scholars appointed by The Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust (NFST). Harry Barnett runs a potato growing enterprise on the Holkham Estate in North Norfolk, growing approximately 420 hectares of potatoes annually. Specialising in salad varieties for the pre-pack and export market, he has a keen interest in making the business more competitive and reducing risk. For his topic, Harry will learn how UK potato growers can counteract the agronomic and market challenges they are facing. He will focus on options for grower marketing strategies and managing potatoes as part of a regenerative agriculture system. NEWS FARMING FOR ANEWFUTURE TICKETS are available for the 2023 Oxford Farming Conference (OFC), themed “Farming a New Future”, which will be a hybrid event, offering both live and online opportunities. Taking place from January 4th to 6th 2023, the 77th event is expected to attract more than 650 delegates to its venue in Oxford, England, as well as hundreds more online. The new programme will allow more time for networking and social events than in previous years, and there will be four core sessions for delegates to engage with. The first will take place on Wednesday evening at The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, where the OFC Report, which is focused on supply chain synergies, will be presented.