The potato harvest on Prince Edward Island is mostly done with growers across the Island facing variable results, the Nov. 4 P.E.I. Potato Agronomy Update said.
In the report, Ryan Barrett, the research coordinator with the P.E.I. Potato Board, said depending on the location growers saw different results. In the western part of the province most growers were happy with their crop, while in the east yields were better than expected but the size profile is undersized for a number of varieties.
In the west there were few worries about storability due to water soak in some potatoes not showing up until they got to the storage, as well as the warm temperatures over the past month making it hard to cool storages down.
“However, it doesn’t sound like those issues are widespread, as many growers avoided potential problem areas while digging or diverted those potatoes to temporary storage,” Barrett said.
Barrett noted in the eastern part of the Island, yields were better than expected heading into harvest, despite the lack of rainfall in late summer.
In the report Barrett said he has heard of there being more issues with common scab, even in fields and varieties that don’t have a history of the disease this year. He has also heard about wireworm damage in fields that didn’t have a history of wireworm and didn’t have insecticide.
“We will have more to share on results from the provincial wireworm survey this winter, but wireworm continues to spread geographically across the province, so it’s important to consider baiting/scouting for wireworm if you’re at all worried about the potential for damage in your crops,” he said.
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