Once again, variable seems to be the best way of describing potato crops this year. Yields seem to be all over the place, but on the plus side, better than yield digs might suggest.

John Sarup, Spud Agronomy

Quality issues including greens, growth cracks, black dot, blackleg and powdery scab can be found relatively easily and I have observed high waste levels at grading.

See also: Potato sprout suppressant limits cut again this autumn

However, I am not seeing too much spraing caused by tobacco rattle virus, which is somewhat surprising bearing in mind the absence of Vydate (oxamyl) in the spring.

Two things come to mind, one being the extra attention to detail given to field and variety selection and the second being how dry soil conditions were during tuber initiation, particularly in unirrigated crops.

This didn’t allow the free movement of free living nematodes at the crucial time when the virus is transmitted.

Bruising issues

Dry matter content seems to be on the high side this year, however the potential bruising problems expected have yet to appear.

Adequate soil moisture, leading to ideal harvesting conditions along with warm temperatures are helping to limit bruising issues, however at the time of writing the first frost of the year is forecast for the West.

Don’t be complacent, carry out a simple drop test and hot box if possible to monitor the crops propensity to bruise. 

On storage, the recent hot weather has caused some major issues with early packing crops going into store. High levels of black dot along with high tuber temperatures making storage a real challenge particularly regarding the management of condensation.

Once in store drying the crop must take priority, remember that when tubers are handled respiration increases and carbon dioxide is produced. Ventilate with air that is less than 4C different from the tuber temperature to avoid condensation.