b'eyeMANITOBA PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDDan Sawatzky, general manager, Jason Hayden, board chairman of theKeystone Potato Producers Association Prince Edward Island Potato BoardDirect potato harvest began at the end of the second week of August this year,Prince Edward Island has experienced a long hot, dry summer. Recent rain almost a week later than last year but still near an average start date. We arein August came too late for some fields and the impact for overall yield has seeing decent yields on the early Ranger Russet crop with adequate size andyet to be seen. The weather has generated an increase in discussions with good specific gravity. our government about the use of supplemental irrigation for agricultural Delivery of the 2019 crop finished up during the last week of July at oneproduction in our province. The annual rainfall amounts and recharge of our of the processors, and at the other, it extended into the first week of August.water resources have not diminished, but the timing of the precipitation has It was a considerable challenge to manage the supply to utilize the planttremendous impact on crop growth and production of all crops from vegeta-capacities considering our short crop last year and the marketing disruptionsbles to blueberries to grain and forage crops to potatoes.the COVID-19 pandemic presented. COVID-19 continues to impact our daily lives at home and at work. P.E.I. The growing season to date has been less than ideal with a later plantinghas been fortunate as all of our provincial cases have been travel related and date and drier, hotter weather following which resulted in some heat stresshave been contained. That being said, we all still have to make accommoda-expression through heat runners, especially in the Russet Burbank crop.tions for safe workplaces and our province has published guidelines to help Potato heat unit values are beyond 105 per cent of the 30 year average withgrowers prepare the workplace and staff for the upcoming harvest season.precipitation ranging from 50 to 100 per cent of normal in the potato growingSmall outdoor gatherings are now allowed, and limited field day activity regions. is taking place to look at 2020 research trialswith pre-registration and Irrigation has helped to minimize the effect of the drought and heat, butattendees following public health guidelines. the crop continues to lag in development and will need to bulk to achieve theThere is still time to go before the 2020 crop is in the bin. We wish all desired yield. Overall, the canopy is reasonably healthy with no late blightgrowers a safe and productive harvest season.reported.A handful of new potato storage buildings are nearing completion. Some further construction to begin this fall to accommodate industry expansionQUEBECpoints to optimism and opportunity some growers are seizing. Others coming off of a few tough years are right-sizing their operations and continue to lookSarah-Maude Larose, project officer for Les at ways to be more efficient. Producteurs de pommes de terre du QubecThe research field days have been moved to a virtual reporting format and can be viewed at the Manitoba potato research site at mbpotatoresearch.ca. The 2020 Quebec potato crop had excellent planting conditions and the acre-Weve also made the tough decision to cancel Manitoba Potato Productionage is up by 2,000 acres, mostly in fresh, seeds and processing.Days, which is usually held in Brandon in late January, due to the COVID-19 Crops have been under pressure throughout the growing season as we pandemic. experienced significant heatwaves and drought. Growers expressed concerns with either the number of tubers or its size. Those who were able to irrigate throughout the heatwave will endure less damage, but recent significant rainfalls given some relief to the crop and overall the foliage looks great. Early maturing varieties seem to have been more affected than the late ones. Growers are reporting yields to be at or slightly below-average levels with good quality. Despite some concerns of surplus when COVID-19 hit, the old crop has all been cleaned up in a timely manner as the fresh sector remained stable and demand for chips and processing increased. The 2020 season has been challenging and we wish a safe harvest and successful marketing season to all potato growers.54 SPUDSMART.COM FALL 2020'