Potato planting is well ahead of this time last season following fine weather across the UK.
Total plantings were estimated at 62,300 hectares on April 13, compared with 36,600ha at the same time in 2006, according to the British Potato Council (BPC).
Rob Burrow, BPC market information manager, told freshinfo: “We are more than half the way there and more progress has been made over the weekend and this week.
“At this point last season plantings were only about 30 per cent complete.”
All areas are ahead of schedule.
Progress was rapid in the south and east of England, with “near perfect” soil conditions reported in many areas, and plantings in Norfolk and Suffolk expected nearing completion.
Parts of west England, including Pembrokeshire, Shropshire and Cheshire, will see plantings completed shortly, while the process is gaining momentum in Herefordshire.
But some low-lying areas such as the Fens are yet to begin planting because of frost risks.
Burrow said: “The way the season pans out will depend on weather conditions in the spring and summer.”
The first token liftings have already taken place in Cornwall, three weeks earlier than last year, he added.
But the higher-than-average rainfall this year has not allayed concerns over water shortages, Burrow told freshinfo, and he said growers in west England have had to start irrigating, while producers in the east are preparing to irrigate.
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