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Potato Handbook
There are several tillage methods in mechanized production systems. Ploughing is the most common method, especially with a moldboard plough that overturns the soil. It first makes a rough seed bed, thereby burying leftovers of the previous crop and weeds. It also involves incorporation of manure or compost in the soil. A plough is comprised of a knife or disc coulter, a chisel, a main-share and a moldboard. They are single-sided or reversible and make one or more furrows.
Other types of ploughs are the chisel plough for deep tillage that disrupts the plough pan which is a compacted layer just below the ploughed top soil. They reach a depth of some 30 cm and their shanks are about 60 cm apart. Chisel ploughing in potato production is done on light soils with moderate quantities of plant leftovers and weeds at the surface. This method of soil tillage is advantageous where there is a risk of soil erosion as the subsoil is less exposed to wind than with moldboard ploughing.
Disc plough
Ploughing with a disc plough also upturns the soil to a lesser degree. They are used in light soils susceptible to erosion. Disruption of a deeper pan, between 30 and 60 cm that hampers root growth, capillary rise and drainage of water is carried out with a subsoiler. Crumbling the soil after ploughing is done using a tine or disc harrow or a roller on light soils. On somewhat heavier soils a cultivator that is similar to chisel plough but operates more superficially and has smaller teeth is applied followed by a harrow or a Cambridge roller or other rollers. On heavy clay soils a power take-off rotary cultivator (rotavator) that breaks up any clods is used.
Agritechnica focus on trends in potato technology
From 12-18 November Agritechnica takes place in Hannover, Germany. During the event there is a main focus on potatoes. Dr. Rolf Peters presents his vision on trends in potato technology. He states that potato growing has required a particularly high degree of flexibility from farmers in this year’s growing season due to the intensive change…
The efficiency of overhead irrigation for potato crops
Irrigation with sprinklers, rain guns, center pivots or linear systems – as opposed to furrow and drip irrigation delivering water under the canopy – distributes water overhead, much like natural rainfall does.
The advantages of drip irrigation in potato cultivation
Of all irrigation practices, furrow irrigation loses most water through drainage and also loses more nitrogen through leaching than other irrigation practices. Drainage through deep percolation on the other hand is an advantage as it avoids accumulation of salts at the surface. Besides, erosion is considerable as the water flow to some extent always transports…
Potato Association of America to showcase industry advances during annual meeting
The annual meeting of the Potato Association of America (PAA) is scheduled to take place from July 23rd to 27th, 2023. PAA members, potato researchers and industry partners will gather in Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island. ‘We look forward to welcoming the PAA family to Prince Edward Island for the first time since…
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