The British Potato Council (BPC) launched three new services to help growers tackle disease threats and ensure a better variety choice at the recent Potatoes in Practice conference.
‘Managing the risk of powdery scab’ is a practical guide that summarises the background to new research on the disease, explains the risks growers face, and offers advice based on the BPC’s latest research. The guide will be sent to levy payers, and will be available through BPC publications.
A web-based database that gives subscribers access to valuable agronomic information on all of Britain’s major potato varieties was also launched at the event. The British Potato Variety Database was developed by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA), and will be constantly updated.
“Users can easily search the database against their most important variety characteristics, and BPC Independent Variety Trial information is shown on a highly visible scale so you can easily compare one variety against another,” said BPC’s Suzanne Willers, who manages the new database. “The next stage of the database development will mean that all this information will even be available through your mobile phone.”
The ‘Fight Against Blight’ growers’ advice sheet has also been revised to target this season’s disease, and covers all aspects of tuber blight, with a particular concentration on storage advice.
“Growers must determine first whether their crop is fit to store,” said Adrian Cunnington, from BPC’s Sutton Bridge Experimental Unit. “This is best done by hot-boxing a sample of 300 tubers per stock at 20C and assessing the relative level of rot development. It is essential that any crops going into store are dried and cooled quickly to reduce the risk of breakdown, and maintaining a good airflow through the crop will be crucial.” l
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