Maris Peer seed being treated with ethylene to encourage more stems giving more tubers. The accumulator system from Restrain gives approximately 20% more tubers compared to untreated. This stock is being treated with a Bio-fresh generator so will be good to compare when the stocks are harvested.

April has brought its fair share of issues for potato growers. The ground started off dry and got drier for lots of growers with little moisture to make a decent bed in some areas. Night time frosts were frequent and day time temperatures struggled to rise above 10 degrees Celsius. Early planted seed tubers are starting to emerge in some areas while many are still quite a bit away.

Rhizoctonia Solani will be an issue this year as it likes colder soils and will have plenty of time to attack sprouts, causing damage or killing them off completely. Damage to the sprout / stolon will give an uneven crop emergence which will continue through development and give reduced tuber numbers for the plant. As temperatures increase and after emergence the stolon's become stronger, the danger from rhizoctonia attacking or killing the plant subsides. There is still a danger to t…

What do we look for in new seed varieties, is it all about looks and taste for the supermarkets? Is it about dual PCN resistance, some form of late blight resistance or a long dormancy so we can compete with the withdrawal of so many active ingredients now and in the coming years? As these products are taken off the shelf we have to decide what the future holds and how do we continue to grow potatoes without massive losses from potatoes that are either value packs or don't make it to the consumer.

Do we continue to grow the same varieties and buy new, more expensive but less efficient chemicals or do we use our breeding programs to combat these issues. Buyers want growers to grow a select few varieties cheaply, using less chemicals in the production and storage and the ability to store for longer but still look…