Total potato plantings in the UK are expected to be 2.4 per cent up on last year, according to the first estimate for the season from the British Potato Council. Planted area is set to increase to 127,800ha, and although up on 2003, is still lower than recent averages. Production is forecast to reach approximately 5.7 million tonnes based on last season’s yields of 46.2t a hectare.
The 2004 crop has been planted over a longer period than last spring with 30 per cent of total area completed during April and 44 per cent in May. This compares to 72 per cent of the crop being planted in April alone in 2003 and with all planting activities complete by early May.
Growing conditions since planting have been good in 2004 so that crops in general are looking good, reported the BPC, but there is variation in tuber development according to planting date. "Earliest set crops had a slow start but have grown well and are now looking strong," said a spokesman. "Many of those planted from mid-April to early May were often in wetter and not ideal seedbed conditions but are catching up."
In contrast, later set crops have had a mainly dry start to their growing period and are only now slowly responding to the showery weather. "Many are not yet meeting in the rows," said the BPC spokesman. "Most crops now require more sunshine and warmer temperatures to increase bulking. Early crops are showing excellent quality with yields just over 1t/ha higher than in 2003 at the same date."
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