b'ADVICE FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTSWhats Going on Behind Your Closed Doors? BILL ORRCanada technical representative1, 4 Group14group.comYOU MANAGED HARVEST.sprouting but does nothing more,expects top production from his fields and You got through door close-up. You1,4SIGHT mitigates sprouting while alsotop quality coming out of his storage. He successfully applied your first dormancyminimizing tubers water loss, increasingkeeps up with best management practices, enhancement/sprout suppressanttheir turgidity and ability to withstandLOVES talking potato production, and treatment. All appears well but whatspressure. Applied or re-applied twosays hed choose a shiny new piece happening at the bottom of that pile? to four weeks prior to bin load-out,of potato technology over a vacation Most of todays potato storages range1,4SIGHT also decreases pressure bruisesany day of the week. Even he, though, in capacity from 40,000 to 80,000 CWT.colour formation at shipping, which canlooked unconvinced when I suggested Stored potato piles regularly reach 18help producers capture quality premiums.he give 1,4SIGHT a try to reduce his feet in height. Thats a lot of weightNo, 1,4SIGHT doesnt take away pressurepressure bruise losses at shipping. Like pressing down on the tubers. Notbruiseno product can heal bruisedmany growers, hed believed pressure surprisingly, many piles suffer pressurecells once bruising has occurred. Rather,bruise to be an unfixable inevitability he bruise, especially when tubers go into1,4SIGHT slows the development ofhad trouble believing there might be a storage stressed, dont receive adequatebruising once tubers hit fresh air atsolution.I bet him a beer that hed see humidification, or are stored in poorlyshipping, which reduces the appearanceresults if he gave 1,4SIGHT a try. insulated buildings.of cut black. He emailed me last spring after his last Unfortunately, theres nothing that canI first met Doug at the Potato Growerspotatoes shipped. I printed it out and be done right? Wrong. of Alberta Conference. Weve managedhad it tacked to my wall: Hallo Bill. Turns 1,4SIGHT is a bio-control dormancya sometimes short, sometimes long talkout youre right. Way, way less pressure enhancer with important side benefits.at nearly every industry conference sincebruise penalty this year. 1,4SIGHT was a Unlike CIPC, which effectively suppressesthen. Hes a hands-on manager whogamechanger. I guess I owe you a beer.Heres How Paul Doubled His YieldCHAD HUTCHINSONGlobal director of potato research and market supportTriCal Grouptricalgroup.comIN OUR ONLINEblog column last fall,early die complex) and at the same timehis farm.I wrote about a long-time Ontario potatosupports beneficial microorganisms calledAt our most recent meeting, he and producer named Paul who achievedsaprophytes (natures nutrient recyclers).I talked about additional management double his average marketable yieldFor best results, follow Pauls lead.changes he might try to optimize after fumigating with chloropicrin (theHe alternates potato and cover crops inproduction further. Plants expected to yield active ingredient in Strike). Since thata two-year rotation. In the fall beforehigh should be given a little extra space article was published, Ive had severala potato season, he knocks down thein-row. Fertilizer calculations will require calls from other growers keen to capturecover crop, then almost immediatelyextra consideration. While doubling yield similar results. As Ive told each of them,fumigates. The fumigation clears the soildoes require more fertilizer, he wont need impressive marketable yield gains areof pathogens and harmful bacteria andto apply double the fertilizer as healthy absolutely achievable from Strike. Thatbolsters saprophyte populations. Fed bysoil is a much more efficient nutrient said, though Strike is extremely effective,the decaying cover crop, the saprophytescycler. And Paul is already thinking about its not a stand-alone, silver bullet, one- cycle the nutrients back into the soil,incorporating different cover crops (ex: red application solution. Rather, Strike is onefront-loading the soil with plant-availableclover or other legumes) to support even key part of a whole management system.nutrients for the growing season ahead.more soil health.Strike and soil fumigants have beenEffectively integrating Strike and coverThe effort of changing his system isnt misperceived in the past as killingcropping is sort of like relearning how tojust coming back in higher yield, Paul everything in the soil. Instead, Strikefarm, Paul says, and theres more learningsays. Its about freedom: freedom to selectively manages detrimental bacteriastill to come. But hes excited to bechoose his destiny, freedom to be more and pathogens (including commonbreaking out of his old routine, learningefficient, freedom to make more profit, scab, verticillium and contributors tonew things about the financial future offreedom to grow the farm business.32SPUDSMART.COM Spring 2023'