b'As part of a trial last year in Prince Edward Island, Ryan Barrett and some cooperating growers evaluated deep tillage ahead of planting to fracture compaction layers. PHOTO: RYAN BARRETTconditions were wet and growers have had to workcan result in more tuber rot and storage issues.yield loss. There can be specific instances where it hard to get their crops out of the ground before winter,Compacted soils are slower to dry out in the spring,becomes a greater concern following unfavourable so minimizing compaction often took a back seat. he adds, which delays planting and also limits yieldconditions when traffic in fields occurs. He adds irri-The primary problem created by soil compactionpotential. gation is used extensively in Manitoba, and this may in Prince Edward Island, in Barretts view, is reducedIn Manitoba, potatoes are grown in many typescontribute to good water infiltration by minimizing access to water, and with more than 90 per cent ofof soil, and Dan Sawatzky observes that althoughthe formation of dry hardpan.potato production in that province non-irrigated, itscompaction is obviously a bigger concern in a significant concern. We seem to be experiencingsoils with greater clay or silt content, he and hisHOW TO TESTdrier summers here in P.E.I., he adds, so this hascolleagues have observed limited root growth andIn the last couple of years, Barrett and his colleagues a big impact on yield potential. In addition, I tendtuber formation in all soil types. In the experience ofhave been organizing presentations with speakers who to see a higher percentage of misshapen tubersSawatzky and his colleagues, compaction has beenencourage more testing to assess the extent of grow-from highly-compacted soils. [The soils here] alsosomewhat elusive to both measure and control. Aters compaction issues. Its important for growers to make water infiltration difficult. As a result, we seethe same time, he says compaction is not generallyuse penetrometers to assess compaction themselves more ponding of water on compacted fields, whichconsidered one of the leading causes of overalland then to dig some holes in their fields to verify if WINTER 2020 SPUDSMART.COM 25'