Potato Country September/October 2019

PotatoCountry.com • September/October 2019 Western focus. National impact.

Improving Soil Health

PLUS: Best Practices Hamm Hangs up His Hat Potato Markets on the Edge

For the Advertiser Index click here

w w w . Po t a t o Co u n t r y . c o m

Vol. 35 No. 6

PO Box 333 Roberts, Idaho 83444 Phone: (208) 520-6461

Country Western focus. National impact.

Table of Contents

September/October 2019

Dave Alexander ...........................dave@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Publisher, Advertising

Denise Keller ..............................editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Editor

Andy Jensen.......................................... www.nwpotatoresearch.com Insect Identification

Jeff Miller .....................................................jeff@millerresearch.com Disease Identification

4 Improving Soil Health

Bruce Huffaker ................................................. napmn@napmn.com Market Report

OSU Potato Field Day 2019

8

Contacts

Dale Lathim ............................................................... dale@pgw.net

Potato Growers of Washington

Best Practices

Brian Feist ...................................brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com Operations Manager, Advertising

WSU Potato Field Day 2019

12 Hamm Hangs up His Hat 16 Potatoes Raise the Bar at School Breakfasts Potatoes USA

18 Storage Essentials

EDITORIAL INFORMATION Potato Country is interested in newsworthy material related to potato production and marketing.

Contributions from all segments of the industry are welcome. Submit news releases, new product submissions, stories and photos via email to: editor@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com.

ADVERTISING For information about advertising rates, mechanics, deadlines, copy submission, mailing, contract conditions and other information, call Dave Alexander at (208) 520-6461 or email dave@PotatoCountry.com.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION U.S. $24 per year / Canada $40 per year / Foreign $80 per year Subscriptions can be entered online at www.potatocountry.com or call (503) 724-3581.

Email address changes/corrections to brian@ColumbiaMediaGroup.com or send to Potato Country, PO Box 333, Roberts, ID 83444.

Buyers' Guide

24 Aphid Tracks, Cultivar Stacks

University of Idaho Snake River Weed Management Tour

Potato Country magazine (ISSN 0886-4780), is published eight times per year and mailed under a standard rate mailing permit at Idaho Falls, Idaho and at additional mailing offices.

It is produced by Columbia Media Group, PO Box 333, Roberts, ID 83444 Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose without the express written permission of Columbia Media Group. For information on reprints call (208) 520-6461.

28 Potato Markets on the Edge Market Report

Editorial Board

Phil Hamm, seen here presenting research results at the 2011 OSU Potato Field Day, is retiring from Oregon State University.

Gary Roth

Chris Voigt

Executive Director

Executive Director

Washington State Potato Commission

Oregon Potato Commission

See the story on page 12.

(509) 765-8845

On The Cover Amber Moore, a soil fertility specialist with Oregon State University, holds a handful of soil scooped from a research plot in which she is studying soil health.

See the story on page 4.

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Potato Country

(503) 239-4763

Departments 17 20 22 27 27 30

Insect Quiz Disease Quiz In the News Calendar New Products PGW Column

September / October 2019

Nina Zidack

Frank Muir

Jim Ehrlich

Montana Seed Potato Certification

Idaho Potato Commission

Colorado Potato Administrative Committee

Director

(406) 994-3150

President/CEO

(208) 334-2350

President/CEO

(719) 852-3322

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OSU Potato Field Day 2019

Improving Soil Health Story and photos by Denise Keller, Editor

S

upport from the Columbia Basin potato industry helped secure funding for a project studying soil health, now underway at Oregon State University (OSU). The work is part of a multistate research project and one of several soil health projects covered at the OSU Potato Field Day, held June 26 at OSU’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

Rotation, Organic Amendments Researchers at Oregon State University are working on several projects designed to improve soil health.

Amber Moore, a soil fertility specialist at OSU, reported on her work with a project studying the impact of crop rotation and manuring on soils. The multi-state project, designed to enhance soil health in U.S. potato production systems, is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant, which she said was secured largely as the result of stakeholder feedback.

The trial site in Hermiston, Oregon,

OSU’s Hannah Rivedal helps Thomas McDade decipher the results of a Potato virus Y test kit.

represents the Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington. In addition, other researchers are conducting the trial in Idaho, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

The project aims to enhance potato health, productivity and quality through management-based optimization of soil biological, chemical and physical characteristics. To do this, Moore is evaluating two-year and three-year potato cropping rotations in side-by-side fields with similar treatment regimes. The expectation is to see more soil health issues in the two-year rotation, Moore explained.

Moore is evaluating six treatments: Russet Burbank without fumigation, Russet Norkotah without fumigation, Russet Norkotah with Vapam, Russet Norkotah with fall-planted mustard, Russet Norkotah with dairy compost, and Russet Norkotah with mustard and

dairy compost. Researchers at all eight sites are testing the first treatment, Russet Burbank without fumigation. Moore chose to use Russet Norkotah in the other treatments because it is a common variety grown in the region and it has a shorter season, allowing a mustard crop to follow. Norkotah also has susceptibility to Verticillium wilt.

The researchers will monitor Verticillium and nematodes in the soil, along with soil health parameters such as carbon dioxide respiration, active carbon, citrate and extractable nitrogen. They’ll also study soil fertility factors such as plant available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as soil physical attributes such as wet aggregate stability and compaction. Lastly, researchers will evaluate tuber yield, size and quality.

This is the first year of the project.

Vapam was applied in March to selected plots in the three-year rotation; in future years, the applications will be made in the fall. Potatoes were planted in mid-April, and soil was sampled for biological soil health, fertility and physical components in early April and late June. The field in a two-year rotation is in wheat this year.

Matthew Blua with the Washington State Potato Commission said that agricultural soils have long been studied from the perspective of chemistry and physics rather than biology. New tools to study soil biology are helping researchers understand how plants interact with microbes in the soil and the impact on crop production. He hopes to see this project result in techniques to reduce nematodes, Verticillium and other pathogens without fumigation, and also identify profitable rotation crops and increase knowledge of soil ecology.

Moore said she is excited about the possibility of finding similarities across the states in select soil and plant growth characteristics in response to varying degrees of fumigation and to the use of organic matter amendments.

Effects of Fumigants

Moore is collaborating on the SCRI project with OSU plant pathologist Ken Frost. In addition to that project, Frost is working on several other trials looking at soil health, explaining to field day attendees that he is primarily interested in how microbial communities respond to fumigant application. He’s

Local potato grower Herb Stahl examines a display of Colorado potato beetles.

Amber Moore, a soil fertility specialist with OSU, checks petioles in a research plot.

OSU Potato Field Day 2019 looking at whether the application of 1,3-dichloropropene, chloropicrin and metam sodium changes the microbial community and affects overall plant health, yield and tuber quality.

“There’s a lot of interest in protecting soils as a resource for future generations, and no one wants to destroy what we have going for us,” he said.

Frost filled in his audience on results of previous experiments, in which he applied Telone (1,3-dichloropropene) at four rates: 11, 13, 15 and 20 gallons per acre. He sampled soil prior to fumigation and one month after fumigation and characterized the bacteria and fungi present.

He found little difference in the soil microbial community among application rates, although bacterial richness and diversity increased in the 15 gallon per acre treatment. The pathologist also noted that bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family, which contains the soft rot bacteria, were in greater abundance in fumigated plots compared to control plots. Fungi in the Ophiocordycipitaceae family, which contains insect parasites,

was negatively affected as a function of increasing the fumigant rate. Frost concluded that 1,3-dichloropropene fumigation could be a minor factor leading to the alteration of the microbial community structure in sandy loam soils.

Currently, Frost is in the first year of a four-year study evaluating chloropicrin and metam sodium. He’s comparing a three-year rotation with growing backto-back potato crops. The latter involves fumigating every year “trying to do what we think we shouldn’t do to see how it changes the microbial community,” Frost explained. Soil samples taken preplanting, at row closure and in the fall will be used to analyze bacteria and fungi as well as soil-borne pathogens such as Verticillium and nematodes. He’ll also evaluate tuber yield, size and quality.

OSU entomologist Silvia Rondon updates field day attendees on leafhopper and Colorado potato beetle research.

Jessie Brazil slices open tubers to show the type of damage caused by different species of soft rot bacteria.

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Ken Frost, an OSU plant pathologist, summarizes recent research related to soil health.

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WSU Potato Field Day 2019

Best Practices Story and photos by Denise Keller, Editor When does Lygus control matter most?

What seed size makes the most sense?

In ongoing efforts to improve potato production practices, Washington State University (WSU) researchers are working to answer these questions and more. They shared updates on current research projects during the WSU Potato Field Day, held June 27 at the WSU Othello Research Unit.

Lygus Bugs

Lygus bugs continue to be a topic of interest to the potato industry. Tim Waters, a WSU regional vegetable specialist, addressed the industry’s concern about the insect and reported on work being done to determine the best

timing for Lygus control. He began by pointing out that it’s important to discern that although Lygus have tested positive for BLTVA, the causal agent of potato purple top disease, they have not been shown to be a vector of BLTVA. The plant symptomology associated with Lygus feeding resembles purple top because of the way Lygus bugs feed on the plant, Waters said, describing the insect’s mouthpart like a hypodermic needle. It punctures plant tissue, probes multiple places, excretes pre-digestive enzymes and feeds on the plant. When feeding ruptures cells in the phloem and xylem, it disrupts the flow of water and photosynthates in the plant, resulting in purple top type symptomology. This can include malformed leaflets, shortened

A research trial evaluates Clearwater Russet seed size ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 ounces.

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Potato Country

September / October 2019

nodes, swollen nodes and axillary buds.

Later, the upper canopy can turn purple and aerial tubers can form.

To learn more, Waters led field trials in 2018, comparing cages infested with Lygus and cages kept free of Lygus. He found that the potato plants in cages infested with Lygus died earlier and showed purple top type symptomology.

There was a reduction in soluble solids of tubers, an increase in misshapen tubers and increased greening. The impact on yield was very negligible, but there was a significant reduction in quality.

This year, Waters is repeating the project with a look at the timing of infestation. Because Lygus feed on many different plants, they move into potato fields throughout the year, making control

difficult. This year’s trial evaluates infestation at various growth stages in order to determine the most critical time to protect potato plants from Lygus infestation.

“If you wanted to keep Lygus bugs out of your potato fields for the entire season, it would probably cost you $400 an acre to do that and you probably couldn’t do a very good job of it. So it’s not realistic to think we’re going to keep them out of the field the whole season,” Waters explained. “What I’d like to be able to tell you in a couple years is the time to apply insecticides to control Lygus.”

Waters predicts that the research will show later-season control to be more important than control of early infestations because Lygus populations build later in the season and because the insects prefer to feed on flowers in potatoes earlier in the season. He also mentioned that Lygus bugs are more attracted to certain cultivars. Umatilla Russet is more attractive than Russet Burbank, for example.

The next piece of the research will be to determine at what threshold treatment should begin.

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WSU’s Tim Waters shows a field day attendee a sample of a Lygus bug.

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WSU Potato Field Day 2019 Seed Size

Field day attendees were also interested to hear about Mark Pavek’s latest research project. Pavek, a potato specialist with WSU, is conducting a trial to find the best seed size for Clearwater Russet.

The project looks at seed ranging in size from 0.5 to 3.5 ounces. While previous research supports a seed size between 2 and 3 ounces for Russet Burbank, some question whether other varieties such as Clearwater might benefit from larger seed.

At the late-June field day, the trial clearly showed a positive relationship between the size of the seed and the size of the resulting plants. However, Pavek said, the 2-ounce seed may do as well as the larger seed when the cost of seed is taken into consideration.

The researchers will harvest the trial in September and look at yield, tuber size and quality. They will also run an economic analysis.

“As you move up in seed size, you’re paying more for seed. I know seed growers would love to sell more seed, but we also have to keep our commercial growers in business. That’s

This year’s seed lot trial included 280 seed lot samples.

Tim Waters, a WSU regional vegetable specialist, is using cages infested with Lygus bugs and cages kept free of Lygus in a research trial to determine the most critical time to protect potato plants from Lygus infestation.

November 6th & 7th, 2019

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Potato Country

September / October 2019

why we’re going to apply the seed cost to the economic return per acre,” Pavek explained.

Given the strong interest in the project, Pavek plans to expand the trial next year with multiple varieties and include both cut and uncut seed. He will collect at least three years of data before making any recommendations.

Seed Lot Trial

Prior to the research presentations, Pavek invited field day attendees to view the annual seed lot trial. Disease levels were similar to past years, with Potato virus Y (PVY) still prevalent in more than 50 percent of the 280 seed lot samples planted.

Of note in this year’s trial is the decline in non-U.S. developed varieties represented, Pavek said. Between 2013 and 2018, the number of nonU.S. developed potato variety seed lots entered in the trial increased steadily.

However, this year that number declined 72 percent from last year. The 2019 seed trial included only 11 non-U.S. developed potato varieties, accounting for 4 percent of all seed lots entered in the trial.

Max Feldman with USDA-ARS covers corky ringspot disease.

Varieties developed by the Northwest Potato Variety Development Program/ PVMI accounted for 56 percent of the seed lots entered in the 2019 trial. Those varieties included Alturas, Castle Russet, Clearwater Russet, Highland Russet, Mountain Gem Russet, Modoc, Payette Russet, Ranger Russet, Umatilla Russet and Yukon Gem.

Pavek mentioned that the most significant change in the Washington seed lot profile in the past 50-plus years has been the increase in the number of varieties Washington growers are planting. In 1962, eight varieties were entered in the seed lot trial; in 2019, there were 38.

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Phil Hamm, pictured here in 2009, is retiring from Oregon State University after 44 years. He spent 29 of those years working at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center as a plant pathologist and the station’s director.

Hamm Hangs up His Hat

By Denise Keller, Editor

W

ith a long list of accomplishments and an even longer list of friends in the potato industry, Phil Hamm is leaving big shoes to fill. Hamm is retiring after 44 years with Oregon State University (OSU).

The OSU plant pathologist and director of the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC) is credited with having a knack for designing practical research projects to help growers better manage a variety of potato diseases. He saw his job not as work, but an opportunity. It was an opportunity to research, learn and share information. It was this attitude that has made Hamm an asset to the Oregon agriculture industry for nearly half a century.

Long Career OSU hired Hamm in the spring of 1975 to work as a technician on diseases of conifer seedlings. After finishing grad school in 1980, he continued to focus on tree diseases until 1990 when he was hired at HAREC to work on corn, beans, grass seed and, most importantly, potatoes.

He established and managed the station’s plant disease clinic during his 12

Potato Country

years as the station’s pathologist. In 2005, he added director to his resume.

He announced his retirement in 2012, but continued to fill both positions until a new pathologist was hired three years later.

“I just could not allow the loss of the plant pathologist position to impact the needs stakeholders had,” Hamm explains.

For the last four years, he has remained on staff as station director. He’s retiring Aug. 31. This will be a huge change at the station, says OSU entomologist Silvia Rondon. She remembers meeting Hamm 14 years ago when she interviewed for a job at HAREC and immediately sized him up as a people person who always had something funny to say.

“It did not take me much to realize during my first visit to Hermiston that HAREC was a perfect fit for me, and that was thanks to Phil,” Rondon recalls.

“Since then, Phil has been my unspoken mentor – the one I observed in every single meeting we attended together, the one I heard talking in front of small or large audiences, the one that does not hesitate to help if needed.”

Impressive Resume Managing the plant disease clinic helped Hamm keep close tabs on

September / October 2019

the problems potato growers were encountering in the field. Those growing challenges became his top research priorities.

“From my perspective, my team and I at the plant pathology program and my colleagues in Oregon and Washington were able to do some significant things to help growers solve a list of problems they were facing,” Hamm says.

Hamm recalls making considerable effort to understand silver scurf and how to manage it. He worked with colleagues to show that silver scurf in the Pacific Northwest was almost exclusively driven by potato seed. Other research involving the post-harvest treatment of tubers with azoxystrobin for the control of sliver scurf ultimately led to commercial development of a post-harvest product used for managing silver scurf and dry rot in many potato producing areas of the U.S. Hamm also put in considerable time studying Potato virus Y (PVY). His team was the first to find the PVYN strain in Oregon and Washington. Hamm worked to demonstrate the effects of different strains of PVY on different potato varieties, and he taught growers to recognize the symptoms.

“PVY has changed. There are more

OSU entomologist Silvia Rondon calls Phil Hamm a mentor. The two have worked together for 14 years.

Speaking at the 2014 OSU Potato Field Day, Phil Hamm explains how OSU researchers are studying the ability of UAVs to detect specific insects in the field.

Phil Hamm (right) checks out a potato plant sample with growers at the 2012 OSU Potato Field Day.

things going on with PVY today,” the researcher says. “At the time, I think we provided some really significant understanding and management of that disease.”

In the early 1990s, Hamm and colleagues were first to confirm the A1 and A2 strains of late blight in the area and to confirm the disease’s resistance to Ridomil. His research also covered nematodes, Rhizoctonia, zebra chip disease, BLTVA, potato leafroll virus and other potato diseases, in addition to fumigation methods and the impact on soil-borne pathogens.

Hamm makes it clear that his accomplishments were the result of teamwork with colleagues, growers and field men. Stakeholders’ insights and willingness to host trials on their farms helped make Hamm’s research efforts successful.

Just as Hamm is thankful to others, many say Hamm is quick to lend a hand, as well. Jeff Miller of Miller Research met Hamm in 1994 when Hamm helped Miller with his master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation research.

“Phil is extremely positive. Phil could be counted on to jokingly give everybody

a hard time. He worked hard and had fun while doing it. Working with Phil was enjoyable,” Miller says. “The potato industry is losing a great friend with the retirement of Phil Hamm.”

Jonathan Whitworth with USDA-ARS agrees, noting that Hamm helped him fulfill research publishing requirements in the early days of his career and has allowed him to conduct research in the screenhouses on the HAREC campus.

“Phil is always enthusiastic about his work and especially about working with others. He is a great friend and colleague,” Whitworth adds.

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Hamm Retires Lasting Impact Hamm looks back on his career with satisfaction and hopes his work has benefited the industry.

“I came to Hermiston not knowing anyone,” Hamm shares. “I learned who they were and their needs. I worked on their needs, and somewhere along the line, they quit being stakeholders and they became friends. I didn’t work for stakeholders. I worked for all these friends of mine.”

Those friends include local potato grower Herb Stahl of Stahl Farms. The grower says Hamm has been an enormous help in staying on top of potato diseases during the 10 to 12 years he’s worked with him.

“Phil, in my opinion, is this research station and will be tough to replace. You know how it is a lot of times when you buy something, you buy from a person and you develop a relationship. When anybody thinks of HAREC, you think of Phil Hamm,” Stahl explains.

During his career, Hamm maintained the philosophy to never make his work about personal recognition or promotion;

instead, he worked for the stakeholders.

He enjoys the people in the potato industry and appreciates potato growers for their hard work and the risks they take.

“I wouldn’t have done it differently.

As I look back, I really haven’t worked but a few days in my 44 years with OSU. It has been such an opportunity to learn new things, to research, to interact with people and to share that information with others,” Hamm reflects. “It’s really heartwarming to know that people remember what I’ve done and that I’ve had an impact.”

Phil Hamm and former OSU potato breeder Dan Hane work on a Potato virus Y project in the greenhouse about 20 years ago.

Colleagues know Phil Hamm to always have a smile, a witty remark and a genuine desire to help potato growers.

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www.blackgoldfarms.com/careers

Phil Hamm speaks at the 1996 Oregon Potato Conference in Ontario, Oregon.

A team from the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center gathers in the field in June 2005 to work a new issue in the local potato industry: potato tuber moth. Pictured from left are George Clough, research horticulturist; Phil Hamm, plant pathologist; Dave Wooster, entomologist; Don Horneck, extension agronomist; and Dan Hane, potato breeder.

As he retires, Hamm looks forward to hunting, fishing and spending more time with his grandkids. He also plans to continue his involvement with his church, the Lions Club, Blue Mountain Community College Foundation Board of Directors, Chamber Foundation Board of Directors, Hermiston Planning Commission and other community organizations. He admits that he won’t miss having to do paperwork on vacation or taking two-foot soil samples, but he

already misses his coworkers and the stakeholders.

“Thank you for being folks that have been part of my life for so long. I’m leaving the growers in good hands,” Hamm says. “The future is going to have challenges. We’re going to see new diseases come along and the old ones become more difficult to manage, but there will be people here at this experiment station and elsewhere that will help them continue to be successful at what they do.”

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Phil Hamm counts local potato grower Herb Stahl among the friends he’s made during his career.

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pbsbuildings.com PotatoCountry.com

15

Potatoes USA

Potatoes Raise the Bar at School Breakfasts

By Rachael Lynch, Global Marketing Manager, Potatoes USA

R

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

Planting Essentials

• Ranger Russets

• Russet

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16

Potato Country

Recommended Intake Ranges

Average Intake

Cup Equivalents

ules around school meals changed nine years ago when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was implemented, an act created to fund child nutrition programs across the country. The act allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the opportunity to make reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving nutrition and hunger safety-nets for millions of children. The act enables schools to receive federal reimbursement for meals that follow the Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA) and are served to qualifying students.

The USDA school nutrition standards at breakfast specify that schools are required to offer fruit to students. While vegetables are not required, this rule gives schools the option to offer vegetables in place of the required fruit component. However, the first two cups of any such substitution

Males (years)

Females (years)

Figure 1: Average vegetable subgroup intakes in cup-equivalents per week by age-sex groups, compared to ranges of recommended intakes per week

must be from the DGA’s dark green, red and orange, beans and peas (legumes) or other vegetable subgroups – in other words, every vegetable subgroup other than starchy, where the potato falls.

Across the U.S. population, the average intake of all vegetables is below the amounts recommended in the DGA, even that of starchy vegetables (Fig. 1).

Within the starchy vegetable group, there are several nutrients of concern (NoC) that school-age children lack. NoC are specific nutrients that are under-consumed and current intakes may pose a substantial public health concern. There are 10 NoC listed and of those, five are found in potatoes: potassium (15 percent DV), dietary fiber (7 percent DV), magnesium (6 percent DV), iron (6 percent DV) and vitamin C (30 percent DV).

To look at school foodservice operators’ understanding of the school nutrition standards and how potatoes fit into breakfast, the National Potato Council conducted a survey. Results indicated that foodservice operators (92 percent) believe potatoes at breakfast would help increase students’ consumption of NoC and introduce kids to other types of vegetables (90 percent).

Due to language included in the Agriculture Appropriations bill passed

by Congress in early 2019, the school

September / October 2019

nutrition standards now allow for potatoes to be more readily served at breakfast.

As of Feb. 15, 2019, schools may offer any vegetable, including potatoes, in place of fruit. Since this change went into effect, Potatoes USA has been hard at work inspiring operators to serve more potatoes at school breakfast. A social media campaign has been launched to inform operators of this law change and is providing operators with valuable resources to upgrade their breakfast offerings for the 2019-20 school year.

Potatoes USA’s school foodservice marketing program is focused on creating future generations of potato lovers by nurturing school foodservice relationships to drive potato volume and by diversifying the use of potatoes on school menus. The program creates student-approved recipes for operators and helps develop customized meals for their menus. Potatoes USA is also creating student-focused educational materials to increase potato consumption in school meals and educate students on the benefits of potatoes. To learn how to get involved in these efforts to increase the use of potatoes in schools, contact Rachael Lynch at rachael@potatoesusa.com.

This material is provided courtesy of Andy Jensen, Ph.D., Manager of the Northwest Potato Research Consortium. For more information, visit www.nwpotatoresearch.com.

Insect Biology Quiz Dr. Andy Jensen

Late summer and fall is when we see praying mantis in and around crop fields, around our homes and shops, and in our gardens. By the time we see an adult like this one in August or September, she has eaten an incredibly large volume of insects and is still eating voraciously to mature her eggs that are laid in the fall and will overwinter.

Questions: 1. Which of these photos shows the eggs of a praying mantis?

2. Where might you find praying mantis eggs in the fall and winter?

3. What insects laid the other eggs?

B

A C

Answers on page 21

PotatoCountry.com

17

Storage Essentials Agri-Stor Companies www.agri-stor.com

Agri-Star Control Panel

Agri-Stor Companies helps growers take control of their potato storage with Gellert’s Agri-Star Control Panel. Since 1964, Agri-Stor has designed and sold thousands of Agri-Star panels for a wide range of postharvest products. Through all these years of application experience and university-based research, Agri-Stor Companies has developed a userfriendly, advanced control panel. Features include a full-color, interactive touchscreen, easy-to-understand programming and internet capabilities with an intuitive app.

Fully adaptable to growers’ potato storages, the Agri-Star panel can handle everything including humidity, refrigeration, airflow, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, heat and lights. When growers match the Agri-Star panel with Gellert’s climate control equipment, their produce is wrapped in the perfect climate, extending its life and quality.

Disinfecting Services LLC www.disinfectingservices.net Post-Harvest Applications, Fogging, Storage Cleaning

Disinfecting Services specializes in post-harvest applications on stored potatoes and fogging potatoes in storages for disease management, as well as cleaning and disinfecting potato storages to meet GAP standards. Disinfecting Services offers plenum pipe straightening, plenum pipe cleaning and disinfecting, humidification system flushes, AC coil washing and piler applicator cleaning.

Disinfecting Services also has its own line of post-harvest chemical products, including Harvest 6.0, a strong disinfectant labeled for potatoes; Bio Ultra, a highfoaming detergent designed to penetrate into heavily contaminated surfaces and break down contaminants from storage walls; Growers’ Shield, a soil treatment that when combined with Harvest 6.0 moves deeper into the surface to disinfect floors; and Cell Guard, a product used to improve airflow by cleaning and maintaining open air passages in humidification systems, which increases the life of the media.

GroupAg

www.groupagproducts.com/forte-humidifiers Forte Humidifiers

GroupAg is offering a new line of humidifiers/misters. Forte Humidifiers are designed to be efficient, effective and versatile. While offering additional capability, the units produce a superior quality fog or fine mist, making it easier to achieve an ideal storage humidity level.

The units accomplish three primary objectives that GroupAg was looking for to better serve the potato industry. They significantly reduce storage cost for the grower while providing high quality humidity, provide capability to be used as a chemical applicator (acids included) and allow for more adaptable installations through a simpler, smaller form factor.

The Forte products provide a cost-effective, low-maintenance solution for humidity, cooling and chemical application needs.

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Potato Country

September / October 2019

Jet Harvest Solutions www.jetharvest.com Jet-Ag

Jet-Ag's original and unique patented formulation and process superheats and produces a thermal fog, which creates a vapor that permeates throughout the storage facility.

The patented technology utilizes the free radicals generated from superheated Jet-Ag into super microbial oxides which kills all microorganisms including bacteria, mold and viruses that can cause diseases such as late blight, early blight, pink rot and blackleg.

Jet-Ag also has a desiccant effect which creates a curative effect on the potato in storage to help control disease.

Jet-Ag can be applied at any time, but ideally upon completed storage of potatoes.

Macro Plastics

www.macroplastics.com Hybrid Bins

The Hybrid family of bins is the future in harvest, storage and shipping solutions for potatoes.

Macro Plastics’ bins feature an innovative perimeter geometry designed to keep the walls from bowing out, as well as tapered walls that prevent one bin from crashing against the walls of any adjacent bin. This “bruise buffer zone” protects produce from damage during transport and in the field.

The lightweight yet strong and durable bins feature removable columns and bases which allow for significantly reduced delivery costs because the empty plastic bins can be nested when shipped. The Hybrid bins are highly ventilated to maximize airflow through the bin.

Pacific Building Systems www.pbsbuildings.com Steel Buildings

Proudly serving business owners, communities and farmers throughout the Pacific Northwest, PBS offers the experience and products to meet potato growers’ crop storage building needs. As experts in the potato storage building industry since 1962, PBS designs, details, engineers and manufactures steel buildings.

The company offers tailor-made solutions that are functional and durable. PBS can provide solutions regarding temperature control, lighting, humidity range, ventilation and loading rate. The company offers multiple bulk storage methods, effective building optimization and quality building products.

Through the use of sound engineering, superior steel and seasoned experience, PBS provides metal buildings that meet the processing and storage requirements in today’s agricultural community.

Suberizer

www.suberizer.com Suberizer Storage Systems

Suberizer offers turnkey storage systems that are engineered for maximum efficiency. As a proven industry leader in raw product storage, Suberizer’s commitment to innovation has impacted the way raw products are stored.

Suberizer Curve and Envelope storage systems use AirEverywhere floors that ensure optimum airflow through the pile. This system minimizes loss, maintains quality and maximizes return.

PotatoCountry.com

19

Know Your Potato Diseases

Disease Identification Quiz Dr. Jeff Miller Dr. Jeff Miller, a plant pathologist, is the president and CEO of Miller Research, Rupert, Idaho.

He can be contacted by phone: (208) 531-5124; cell: (208) 431-4420; jeff@millerresearch.com

This is a scabby edition of the Potato Disease Quiz. Which pictures below depict common scab, and which depict powdery scab?

A

20

B

C

D

E

F

Potato Country

September / October 2019

Answers Page 23

Decay Control Storage Solutions BioSave JETAG

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Know Your Insects Answers (from page 17)

1. Photo C is a cluster of mantis eggs.

The actual eggs are long and thin, many of them embedded in this clump of Styrofoam-like material.

2. Mantis lay their eggs under boards, in nooks and crannies of buildings, among rocks, etc. If you find clumps like this during the winter, leave them undisturbed to increase your mantis population next growing season!

3. Photo A shows the eggs of a plantfeeding species of stink bug in the genus Chlorochroa.

Photo B shows the eggs of an assassin bug, an uncommon but valuable predator in many crops.

PotatoCountry.com

21

In the News

WSPC Elects Mike Madsen

The Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) has elected Mike Madsen as its 2019-20 chair. Madsen, a farm unit manager at AgriNorthwest, is an industry at-large member of the WSPC. He has served in various roles with the commission, including chair of the Research and Industry Outreach committee and a member of the Finance and Executive committees.

Madsen’s priorities match those of retiring chair, Roger Hawley. Both are strong supporters of funding high quality potato research and soil health. Madsen also wants to promote the ag story and provide a voice for the growers in Olympia and Washington D.C.

McCain Invests in Brazilian Frozen French Fry Factory

McCain Foods has invested approximately $100 million in its first French fry factory in Brazil. The new plant is due to open in the first half of 2021.

The move furthers McCain’s expansion in the Brazilian market. The company acquired 49 percent of Forno de Minas, which specializes in bread snacks and appetizers, in 2018, and 70 percent of Sérya, a Brazilian company specializing in preformed potato products, in May 2019. Brazil is the fifth largest frozen prefried potato market in the world.

McCain expects the new plant to generate 150 direct jobs, 450 indirect jobs and positively impact approximately 750 farmers and agricultural professionals.

NPC Promotes Employees

Two key National Potato Council (NPC) employees are taking on new roles.

The NPC has promoted Hollee Alexander to vice president of industry relations and events and Hillary Hutchins to director of member outreach and programs.

“The promotions and expansion of responsibilities for Alexander and Hutchins reflect their dedicated commitment to the National Potato Council and the value they bring to the industry overall,” said Kam Quarles, CEO of the NPC. Alexander has served on the NPC staff for 17 years. Hutchins has been with NPC for four years.

IPC Adds Produce Veteran to Staff

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) has hired Mike Krage as its new retail promotion director for the northeast. In this position, he will assist category managers and buyers in boosting category profitability and is looking forward to sharing how category data can help drive good decisions for assortment, pricing, promotion and merchandising.

Krage brings more than 30 years of experience in the retail and wholesale produce industry and has served on the retail board of directors for United Fresh.

Retail Potato Sales Value Increases

Sales data for the July 2018 through June 2019 marketing year show both successes and opportunities for the potato category, according to Potatoes USA. Total potato sales increased in dollars by 2 percent while sales volume declined by 1 percent.

Frozen, refrigerated and dehydrated potatoes have the largest volume sales increase for the marketing year. The decline in total potato sales is due to a 3.3 percent decline in fresh potato sales.

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Potato Country

September / October 2019

NPC Seeks PILI Applicants

The National Potato Council (NPC) is accepting applications for the 2020 Potato Industry Leadership Institute (PILI). The program will take place in Michigan and Washington D.C., Feb. 19-27, 2020.

Each year, the program’s participants meet in a growing area to discuss key issues and then visit the nation’s capital for an overview of public policy issues and lobbying training. The program aims to develop leaders and motivate them to take on leadership roles in the industry.

Applications are due Oct. 4.

For more information, visit www. nationalpotatocouncil.org or email Hillary Hutchins at hillaryh@nationalpotatocouncil.org.

Vive Crop Protection Names New Leaders

Darren Anderson has stepped into the role of CEO at Vive Crop Protection. Previously, Anderson was the company’s president and is one of the co-founders of the company. He has been with the company for 13 years, working in product development, marketing and communications and new business development.

Anderson replaces Keith Thomas as CEO. Thomas is now serving as executive chair of Vive’s board of directors and remains one of the company’s key investors.

The company also welcomed two new additions to its leadership team. Dan Bihlmeyer is the new vice president of sales and marketing, and Barbara Hopper is the new chief financial officer and vice president of operations.

Bihlmeyer has sales and marketing experience in the crop protection, seed and biotechnology industries. He has worked with BASF and Syngenta.

Hopper brings experience in project management, strategic planning, financial management and mergers and acquisitions.

Know Your Disease Answers (from page 20)

Tracks from known locations in the field to precise layers and areas in storage

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Click on loads to pop up details and reports. n Provides clear links between field and storage g track quality characteristics and provide transparency to buyers and processors. n Provides data for efficiency analyses and a variety of management reports. n

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Photos A, D and E show symptoms of common scab. As these photos show, symptoms can be light and almost appear like enlarged lenticels (Photo D) or can be relatively deeper (Photos A and E). Common scab is primarily caused by the bacterium Streptomyces scabies. Sometimes the term “acid scab” is used to refer to common scab occurring in low pH soils and is caused by Streptomyces acidiscabies.

This disease has also been called russet scab, erumpent scab and pitted scab.

Photos B, C and F show symptoms of powdery scab. Powdery scab is caused by Spongospora subterranean f. sp. subterranea.This organism is not a true fungus, but is more closely related to protozoa.

However, pathologists often group it with the fungi or call it “fungal-like.”

Symptoms for common and powdery scab can be very similar.

It is difficult – if not impossible – in some cases to identify the disease based solely on visual symptoms.

Diagnostic test kits are useful in LD identifying powdery scab, and molecular identification can be easily done to both pathogens.

Because neither of these organisms are true fungi, traditional fungicides are not effective in managing these diseases. Control of both diseases is very difficult, and current recommendations may only minimally reduce symptom expression if environmental conditions favor disease development.

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University of Idaho Snake River Weed Management Tour

Aphid Tracks, Cultivar Stacks Story by Brian Feist Photos by Dave Alexander, Publisher

In

an effort to provide potato growers with new options and management strategies, researchers at the University of Idaho’s Aberdeen Research and Extension Center are studying issues including Potato virus Y (PVY) and the development of new potato varieties. One study is looking at aphid migration in an attempt to understand how PVY is being spread. Another project is evaluating potential new cultivars. Researchers shared updates on both topics during the Snake River Weed Management Tour in June.

Understanding PVY Kasia Duellman with the University of Idaho describes how she is using yellow bucket traps to collect aphids.

PVY has been among the most challenging issues facing seed potato growers for the past decade. For this reason, it is one of the main diseases that Kasia Duellman, an extension seed potato specialist, is working on in her fields.

The researcher is trying to determine when aphid movement is most important for seed potato growers – early in the season or late in the season. Specifically, when are the aphids that vector the virus more likely to be spreading the disease?

“Many aphids can move PVY. So although aphids that colonize potato are the most efficient at transmitting the virus from an infected plant to a healthy one, the non-colonizing aphids that are passing through a potato field may be more important in the movement of PVY during the growing season,” Duellman explained.

In her field study, Duellman is growing seed potatoes in covered and uncovered plots. Following vine kill, she will remove the covers to see if aphids infect plants, which had previously been protected from the insects, at that point in the season.

Duellman’s research team is also attracting and capturing aphids in the field to evaluate the number and species of aphids present throughout the season.

Season-long monitoring may help determine when populations peak, which could give seed growers information on when to apply treatments such as mineral oils and insecticides. These treatments alone don’t manage PVY, but paired with other practices might help minimize spread of the disease.

Breeding New Varieties

Faculty from the University of Idaho works with faculty from other institutions on the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program and Potato Variety Management Institute to develop and promote new potato varieties. Potential cultivars undergo extensive testing, and the process can take as long as 15 years.

Currently, the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center has 90,382 individual plants that are genetically distinct and could become commercial varieties.

Those plants come from several different sources. Most – about 70,000 – come from University of Idaho greenhouses.

The rest come from other states, including Colorado, Maine, North Dakota and Texas, which all take part in a varieties exchange program. The Aberdeen program exchanges mini tubers with other programs in order to bring new germplasm into the breeding program.

Jonathan Whitworth, a plant pathologist with USDA-ARS, explains the potato breeding program at the Aberdeen Research and Extension Center.

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PotatoCountry.com

25

University of Idaho Snake River Weed Management Tour Last year, of the 90,000 varieties, researchers selected only 1,834 to move on based on appearance and shape. From that point, they planted the seed pieces, growing one hill and then multiplying it to 12 hills. Of those, they will select varieties based on appearance and fry quality, which gives them an early indication of processing suitability.

The chosen cultivars will continue to yield trials. The program includes a preliminary early harvest, advanced harvest, chip trial, specialty trial and national fry process trial, which is replicated in about five other states to evaluate the varieties’ performance in other growing regions.

Attendees of the Snake River Weed Management Tour check out test plots.

Pam Hutchinson (far left) with the University of Idaho explains her research trials to guests at the Snake River Weed Management Tour.

New Products

Calendar

BASF Fungicide Earns EPA Approval

BASF has received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration for its Revysol fungicides, which includes Provysol for potatoes. Provysol is labeled to control early blight, brown spot and black dot in potatoes.

According to the company, the fungicide offers fast uptake by the plant, leading to immediate disease-protective action. It’s also said to absorb quickly, leading to excellent rainfastness and low water solubility and allowing the active ingredient to move through the plant for longer residual activity.

BASF expects Provysol to be available to growers for the 2020 planting season.

Visit www.provysol.com.

Oct. 17-19

PMA Fresh Summit Convention and Expo Anaheim, Calif. www.freshsummit.com

Nov. 5-7

Montana Seed Potato Seminar Holiday Inn Missoula, Mont.

MSU Potato Lab, (406) 994-3150

Nov. 13

Lindsay Debuts Product

Lindsay’s FieldNET Pivot Watch is now available through Zimmatic dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Announced earlier this year, FieldNET Pivot Watch is the company’s budget-friendly irrigation monitoring solution.

Pivot Watch works on any pivot brand and offers do-it-yourself installation. It includes a solar-powered remote telemetry device and a monitor-only subscription to Lindsay’s FieldNET irrigation management platform. Pivot Watch has integrated cellular connectivity, GPS positioning and other embedded sensors, enabling growers to remotely monitor their pivots’ functions, such as current position, status, direction and speed, using the FieldNET app.

Visit www.myfieldnet.com.

Fertilizer-Compatible Insecticide Receives Registration

Growers have a new tool to combat foliar insects in potatoes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered Averland FC for use in Idaho, Colorado, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Registrations in additional states might come next year.

The product is the newest addition to Vive Crop Protection’s fertilizercompatible product lineup and can be mixed with micronutrients and other chemistry in a foliar application including chemigation.

The active ingredient, abamectin, helps control Colorado potato beetles, leafminers, potato psyllids and spider mites.

Visit www.vivecrop.com.

Big Idaho Potato Harvest Meeting Shoshone Bannock Casino Hotel Fort Hall, Idaho

Nov. 20-21

Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association Conference and Trade Show

Three Rivers Convention Center Kennewick, Wash.

Sheri Nolan, (509) 585-5460 or www.pnva.org

Dec. 11-12

Washington Potato Summit Northern Quest Spokane, Wash.

Katy Dray, (509) 765-8845 or kdray@potatoes.com

Jan. 14-15, 2020 Potato Expo 2020 The Mirage Las Vegas www.potato-expo.com

Editor’s note: To have your event listed, please email Denise Keller at editor@columbiamediagroup.com.

Please send your information 90 days in advance.

Sponsored by:

PotatoCountry.com

27

Market Report

Potato Markets on the Edge

W

ill the North American potato industry face a surplus or a shortage during the 2019-20 marketing season? The answer is complex. It involves the intersection between planted acreage, yields, demand, processing capacity and global potato industry developments, among other factors. Many of these factors will be colored by the challenges that the industry has faced during the past year. Given crop and market conditions as of Aug. 1, it appears that the potato market is in a precarious balance and could move in either direction, depending upon developments during the next 90 days. We will not have a clear picture of the situation until the harvest is complete, and perhaps not for some time after that.

Planted Acerage

USDA estimates that growers planted 967,500 acres to potatoes in 2019. That is only 1,200 acres more than they planted in 2018. Texas, Florida and California were the only states reporting acreage increases this year. Those increases were weighted toward early chip potato production. Though experts dispute the details of USDA’s Acreage report, it seems clear that U.S. potato growers didn’t get carried away planting potatoes this spring.

Canadian growers planted 360,543 acres to potatoes this year. That is 11,526 acres more than the current estimate for

28

Potato Country

2018 acreage. Increases came primarily in provinces with French fry production capacity. They were designed to either fill the needs of new capacity coming online this year or to cover a shortfall in raw product supplies for existing capacity.

Potato growers make rational decisions when they plan production, though observers frequently accuse them of being overoptimistic. The days of planting potatoes with the expectation that buyers will take whatever is produced are history. However, there still is a tendency for growers to produce more potatoes than the industry needs. The dichotomy probably is the result of different approaches to planning and production practices. Plans tend to be based on threeyear average yields. That is viewed as the best indicator of expected yields for the next crop.

Nevertheless, each season growers seek to find ways to improve the yield and quality of the current crop. Growers have a hard time integrating changes in cultural practices into production plans because they are not sure what the impact of those changes will be until they are proven in the field.

Yield

Yield deviations are a huge factor for potato markets. Evidence suggests that they can explain over 70 percent of year-to-year deviations in potato prices.

If growers are rational decisionmakers, that makes sense. While farming practices have a huge impact on yields, growing potatoes is not a controlled factory process. Output will vary from year to year due to environmental factors over which growers have limited control. Such factors include heat units, rainfall, wind, hail, insect and disease pressure, frost, etc. While national average yields have been in a strong uptrend since World War II, in any given year the national average yield can deviate from the trend, either up or down, by more than 20 cwt per acre.

Deviations on individual farms can be more substantial. While the most severe

September / October 2019

deviations from trend represent only 5 percent of production, the extremely inelastic nature of potato markets is such that swings in supply of that magnitude can result in extreme profits (yields below the trend) or severe losses (yields above the trend).

Through August, growing conditions for the 2019 potato crop have been mixed. Cold weather and excessive moisture (snow and/or rain) slowed planting in most storage growing areas.

As a result, crop development has lagged behind normal this year. That has pushed back harvest dates for early potatoes.

Nevertheless, many growing areas report that conditions have been excellent since crops have gone in the ground.

Exceptions include Wisconsin, where excessive rainfall has continued to be an issue for crops; much of Idaho, which experienced up to three frost events during June; and the San Luis Valley, where a lack of sunshine and heat units threatens to push harvest into the frost danger zone. The areas with the most severe risk produced close to 40 percent of the 2018 potato crop. Nevertheless, if conditions in those areas improve and/or other growing areas have strong enough yields to offset losses in the at-risk areas, the national average yield could still come in above the trend.

Demand

The demand outlook for potatoes is mixed. Though buyers are showing strong interest in yellow potatoes, that is coming at the expense of other table potato varieties. Total demand for table potatoes has been flat, at best, for several years.

In contrast, demand for frozen potato products has been growing in recent years, both domestically and globally.

Domestic French fry consumption has been increasing roughly 1.5 percent per year in recent years. The growth rate for the global market (outside of North America and Europe) is much greater, though from a much smaller base. Global French fry trade has expanded an average

of 8.3 percent per year for the past 15 years.

Global Market

The global French fry market could be a bright spot for the potato industry during the 2019-20 marketing season.

Europe’s 2018 crop failure constricted raw product supplies and suppressed global French fry trade. Capacity constraints, along with raw product shortages in parts of North America, prevented North American fryers from filling the void left by the European shortfall. Preliminary trade data suggest that the industry may have avoided a downturn in global trade during the 2018-19 marketing year, but any growth was minimal. Lost sales cannot be recaptured, but demand has continued to grow. Conservatively, we would expect 2019-20 global trade to exceed the 201718 volume by 10 percent. To match the longer term trend, trade would need to increase by 17.2 percent. That suggests that global French fry sales could increase between 0.65 billion and 1.11 billion pounds, relative to 2017-18 levels, provided that the industry has enough raw product and enough capacity to cover that volume.

Europe probably has the processing capacity to cover most of the growth, at least on the low end of the range.

Raw product supplies may be more problematic. A year ago, Europe was dealing with a large surplus from the 2017 crop. Though potato production dropped more than 20 percent in some of the key growing areas, the carryover of storage potatoes meant that processors could get by with a 46-week supply without any disruption. Coverage was closer to a 42-week supply of raw product. Fryers hoped to make up for that difference by jumpstarting the 2019 harvest, but Mother Nature did not cooperate. European crop conditions are mixed. Growers planted more potatoes this year. They are hoping for average yields, but summer growing conditions have been mixed.

The trade is hoping for average yields.

The industry probably needs that to bring finished-product production back to 2017-18 levels. Any glitch could tip the

European market into a shortage again this year. Two short-lived heat waves have spooked the European market this summer. Reports indicate that Poland and northern Germany are dry. Irrigation water supplies are limited in a number of growing areas.

Could North American processors capture some of the expected growth in the global French fry market? The industry has added at least 1 billion pounds of new processing capacity over the past 18 months, with an additional 650 million pounds of incremental capacity scheduled to come online during the 2019-20 marketing year.

Some of that capacity will be used to ease pressure on plants that have been running beyond their design capacity.

Fryers also will work to cover pentup demand in the domestic French fry market. Nevertheless, if the raw product is available, fryers may be able to increase offshore exports from the U.S. and Canada by 300-400 million pounds this year.

Editor’s note: To contact Mr. Huffaker, or to subscribe to North American Potato Market News (published 48 times per year), write or call: 2690 N. Rough Stone Way, Meridian, ID 83646; (208) 5258397; or e-mail napmn@napmn.com.

By Bruce Huffaker, Publisher North American Potato Market News

HUFFAKER'S HIGHLIGHTS • Deviations from expected yields are a major factor for year-toyear changes in open-market potato prices.

• The outlook for the 2019 potato crop is mixed. Crops across North America were planted late.

Growing conditions have been exceptionally good in growing areas that produce up to 60 percent of the crop. Crops in other growing areas including Wisconsin, Idaho and the San Luis Valley have faced challenges.

• Global French fry demand may be a driver for the 2019-20 market. Pipelines are empty due to Europe’s 2018 crop failure. Europe may not have enough raw product to cover demand growth in the global French fry market. North American processors have added capacity that might be able to cover some of that growth.

PotatoCountry.com

29

Potato Growers of Washington

Early Harvest Causing Late-Season Concerns

By Dale Lathim, Potato Growers of Washington

T

his year of amazing weather continues in the Columbia Basin.

Now that we are harvesting the early portion of the crop, this spring’s delayed planting seems to be a distant memory already. Due to the recordsetting heat units in April and the usual nearly perfect weather in May and June, the late planting does not appear to be of any detriment to the crop harvested so far.

Some fields have been harvested within 120 days from the date of planting – not emergence – and are still coming in with yields in the high 20s to low 30s tons per acre and better than 70 percent 6-ounce potatoes.

Some in the industry feared maturity would be an issue and were concerned about specific gravity in some of these early fields, but gravities are coming in above average.

The only downside we have seen so far is that while the 6-ounce percentage is at or above the season-wide average, the percentage of over 10-ounce potatoes is very low. For years, we have heard that processors actually want this type of crop, but for certain cuts of fries, they need the very big potatoes. The processors trying to run those cuts now are having a hard time

meeting finished product specifications. But other than that, the crop size and maturity is meeting or exceeding expectations in most regards.

But not all has been rosy in every field, and we are seeing a few things on the front side of the harvest that have me concerned for the full-season varieties.

Last year was a very tough potato year because of the extreme heat and smoke throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the seed growing areas. The quality of the seed coming in this year, especially in some of the varieties where seed supplies were tight, was not what we have come to expect.

This has resulted in some fields with less than 80 percent stands.

Maybe with the remaining time in the growing season and the potential for additional bulking between now and harvest, the crop may still yield reasonably well. However, of the fields on the front end of harvest that had similar stand issues, yields were off by as much as 25 percent from other fields of the same variety in similar geographical areas with similar field conditions. The real kick to the stomach on these fields was that there was far more cullage due to rough, misshapen potatoes in these fields, which further reduced the payable percentage. The combination of lower yields and payables is not covering the cost of production on the fields that fall into this category.

I’m also concerned that last winter was very mild until February when the snowstorm hit and stayed with us longer than an annoying relative. The snow served as an insulating blanket and while we were cold for an extended period of time, the frost never really got too deep and we did not get our usual kill time on soil-borne pathogens and pests. As a result, we are seeing more potatoes showing symptoms of soil-borne diseases (in most cases, the symptoms are not leading to actual cullage at this point), and with another month or so for progression to the full-season varieties, I am fearful When you put your hard earned money downoccur for ainnew potato trailer, why not put that it we may see more nematode, corky ringspot, Pythium, etc. than normal. I down on one that will work as hard as you? Western potato trailers deliver on average hope that I am wrong about this, but my gut tells me that when 2000lbs more that the competition. Couple that with highest resale inbe the we see thisthe many symptoms now,values they may full-blown industry and you can’t go wrong. problems later on.

Another fear and this has nothing to do with the once-inLearn more at www.westerntrailer.com or–call 888.344.2539 a-lifetime weather we experienced this year – is that there are more confirmed fields with late blight than I can remember in at least 10 years. Most people believe that all the infected fields and those surrounding them have been identified and everything but the kitchen sink thrown at them to prevent the spread of the Building the best and making it better…your way! fungus. However, I am concerned that there may be other fields When you put your hard earned money down for a new potato trailer, why not put it that have not been identified, and if not monitored and managed down on one thatthe will work hard as you? Western potato trailers deliver on average Building bestas and making it better…your way!

2000lbs more that the competition. Couple that with the highest resale values in the intensely in storage, surprise storage losses may result.

When hard earned money down for a new potato industry andyou youput can’tyour go wrong.

So while everything looks great now, my hope is that you trailer, it down on one that will work hard as you?

Learn why morenot at put www.westerntrailer.com or callas888.344.2539 will put a little extra effort into managing your fields, harvest Western potato trailers deliver on average 2000lbs more that the and storages to be sure that if you do find yourself in any of the competition. Couple that with the highest resale values in the conditions that I mentioned, you can minimize your downside as industry and you can’t go wrong. much as possible.

I wish everyone a very safe harvest season!

Learn more at www.westerntrailer.com or call 888.344.2539

Building the best and making it better…your way!

30

Potato Country

September / October 2019

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