Folks are just getting into the fields to begin harvest here in P.E.I.
After an early planting season — and almost perfect growing conditions in June and July — August unfortunately, was one of the driest on record. Some areas were fortunate to receive small amounts of rain sporadically throughout the summer and will certainly fare out better than the dryer areas, but the Western end of the province seemed to be the most impacted.
What we anticipated to be an above average crop will now probably amount to average or below. Only roughly 10 per cent of fields in P.E.I. have irrigation systems so we rely heavily on rain, which is essential for development and most importantly, for potatoes to bulk up. After suffering through a dry, hot, summer, we hope the dry weather continues as we work to get the crop out of the ground.
We were fortunate to have minimal disease risk this year. Aphid and other insect pressure seemed to be better than previous years, but this was also a testament to excellent application of appropriate insecticides by our growers. We hope both factors will lead to good post-harvest test results. We also hosted several successful research and field trial days in late August.
These events are a chance for industry, government partners, and most importantly growers, to learn about the various trials underway, the research behind the trials, and how the crop reacts to different levels of inputs. I want to thank our research and agronomy team as well as the partnership in AIM and Living Labs for providing such valuable information to our growers.
This will be my last update as chairman of the board as my six-year term as a board member will come to an end in November at our AGM. I wish the new chairman and board all the best as we continue to strongly advocate for our great potato industry.
Submitted by John Visser, Chairman of the Board of Directors, PEI Potato Board