For a century at least, potatoes have been one of our province’s staple crops. More recently, they’ve become a pillar of southern Alberta’s economy. And now university-based researchers are on hand for support, as producers prepare to grow the industry still further. With a major potato processing plant now under construction in Lethbridge, industry officials predict a jump of nearly 10,000 more acres put into potato crop rotation. On Friday, scientists at…
Stratus Ag Research recently released the 2018 Canadian Independent Crop Advisor Feedback Report. Designed to measure the expectations for and the effectiveness of seed and crop protection manufacturer engagements with independent crop advisors. The report is a road map for companies to engage with independent agronomists in a meaningful way. A few of the highlights from the report are included below: Independent crop advisors support companies with products that perform as promised;…
Good nutrition is essential for supporting potato plant health and providing the necessary defense against plant disease and stress. The International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), J.R. Simplot Company and Tennessee State University have collaborated on a new publication that provides readers with access to a unique collection of hundreds of high resolution photographs that document a wide range of nutrient deficiency symptoms in potato plants with remarkable clarity. Developed within a unique…
UK potato growers supplying McDonald’s are set to benefit from the provision of free agronomy skills training to improve crop performance and quality with the launch of the MacFry Potato Academy. The Academy is a joint initiative between the UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and McDonald’s UK and Ireland, in association with potato suppliers McCain Foods and Lamb Weston, aimed at the 209 farmers that supply the potatoes for McDonald’s…
Prince Edward Island’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has updated the Potato Pest Control Guide for 2018. The guide includes an up-to-date list of available pest control products and rates for insecticides, fungicides and herbicides registered for use in potatoes. Download the guide
TOMRA Food is forming cross-industry working groups to accelerate development of digital standards for the food industry, with the first meetings to be held in Q4, 2018. “Thousands of TOMRA Food sorters around the world are generating valuable data that has the power to optimize every part of the food supply chain,” says Mike Riley, head of TOMRA Food. “This is in addition to data from millions of other devices and applications…
NEWS RELEASE West Fargo, ND – Following the VACS-8 model, the Lockwood VACS Mobile is a complete handling and cleaning system mounted on one single semi-trailer. With the aid of high volume air, you can clean loads of potatoes easily while minimizing damage as it efficiently removes rocks, dirt, vines, corn trash and other debris effortlessly. The VACS Mobile is best described as “the ultimate mobile cleaning machine” by Lockwood’s Director of…
The International Potato Center (CIP) is working to improve data collection while driving down costs by building tools that gather vital information without ever touching a plant. Driven to improve the quality of information, an innovative team at CIP has pushed themselves to build their own equipment designed to help them streamline the data captured. By studying the interaction between plants and incident light, scientists can investigate everything from how the changing…
The Plant Management Network (PMN) has released a new presentation to help potato consultants, growers and other practitioners in Canada and the U.S. learn about the basics of seed potato certification. Seed certification provides assurance to growers that seed-borne potato diseases are kept under acceptable levels, and helps the industry consistently provide high quality products to consumers. The webcast, developed by Robert D. Davidson, professor and extension specialist at Colorado State University,…
Amid growing concern about the discovery of cancer-causing chemicals in potato chips and french fries, a young scientist at the University of Brussels has developed a new laser system that scans peeled potatoes in the factory to detect toxic compounds and prevent them from reaching the consumer. At present, raw potatoes that produce an excess of the carcinogenic chemical acrylamide cannot be detected in a fast, sensitive and non-destructive way. This new…