Written by Charlotte Cunningham
With the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) having to cut back its inspection programme in the midst of continued COVID pressures, alongside increasing aphid issues, Agrico has upped the level of technical support offered to seed potato growers. Charlotte Cunningham reports. The impact of COVID has been keenly felt by the seed potato sector. From the practicalities of socially distancing employees to responding to rapid fluctuations in demand, the season has required flexibility from the supply chain. “It’s been an extraordinary year so far,” says Archie Gibson, executive director at Agrico. “COVID has certainly presented challenges and the weather did a spectacular U-turn around planting.” Despite the COVID restrictions, the seed crop certification boards in Scotland and Ireland – the Science Advice to Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and the Department of of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) – have been able to to stick to the two growing crop inspections, and in due course, standard tuber inspection. For growers in England and Wales, however, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has had to cut back its inspection programme; restricting the number of inspections for basic seeds (field generations 3-5). What’s more, with AHDB reporting high aphid pressure, seed…
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