Potato planting 2018

[Sonoftheheir]

I reckon we’ve got all top and no bottom, so maybe irrigation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? All I know is it’s been taking up all my time in the past 6 wks.

We will see, still a long way to go till harvest.

I haven’t been out much so maybe I have a false sense of the crop looking good?

All our neighbours have had the same irrigation as us (inc Lees) so they all look reasonable.

Skin set is a fair way off in performer, maybe not so on Agria.

 

[Netherfield]

As a layman at spuds, how do you work out how much water to use?

 

[Honest john]

Water does for sure grow more top. But not always more bottom.

It’s the heat that has the affect. It’s 35C again now.
A few cooler days then back to 27C

 

[Sonoftheheir]

As a layman at spuds, how do you work out how much water to use?

Used to say an inch a wk.

This year they could do with 2 inch.

 

[ridger]

I've lots of these

 

[Trying]

I've lots of these View attachment 698528 View attachment 698530

Don’t worry about them. In a year like this they will be glad to have them if the DM is right.

 

[Flat 10]

Did you get any rain @Honest john ?
My beet were struggling like hell.

 

[Honest john]

Did you get any rain @Honest john ?
My beet were struggling like hell.

We got a 6 Thursday followed by 11 Friday. So pleased with that but need that again. Before next weeks heat. We are on good ground Beet are hanging in but spuds are not.

 

[Fubar]

Agria, on the headland where they have had intermittent irrigation-
View attachment 698322
View attachment 698324

Secondary growth I presume? What will happen to them?

I've found some of this today in unirrigated crops. New shoots coming off daughter tubers. If the shoots then set potatoes will these secondary growths feed off the daughter and take all it's heart away thus leaving the daughter like a hollow seed spud?
Father said in 1976 they had loads of what they called floaters. Wonder if this is the same?
Thinking I should be applying fazor to try and stop it happening.
Trouble is , the crop is still under stress. Not ideal fazor conditions.
Crop needs be left as long as possible to get any chance of some size.

 

[Honest john]

I've found some of this today in unirrigated crops. New shoots coming off daughter tubers. If the shoots then set potatoes will these secondary growths feed off the daughter and take all it's heart away thus leaving the daughter like a hollow seed spud?
Father said in 1976 they had loads of what they called floaters. Wonder if this is the same?
Thinking I should be applying fazor to try and stop it happening.
Trouble is , the crop is still under stress. Not ideal fazor conditions.
Crop needs be left as long as possible to get any chance of some size.

The Daughter can feed there own children given good weather conditions. I have seen it before.

Crops here are well stressed from the heat.

Looks like a lot of rain coming today for central west of UK. BBC. 3" Belfast.

 

[ridger]

The Daughter can feed there own children given good weather conditions. I have seen it before.

Crops here are well stressed from the heat.

Looks like a lot of rain coming today for central west of UK. BBC. 3" Belfast.

I'm 40 miles from Belfast and not one drop!

 

[Sonoftheheir]

Spuds are looking a bit battered after that weather. Caberet in the foreground, haven’t had any water this end. Then Performer next to the wheeling with Agria after.

 

[Fubar]

The Daughter can feed there own children given good weather conditions. I have seen it before.

Crops here are well stressed from the heat.

Looks like a lot of rain coming today for central west of UK. BBC. 3" Belfast.

So will the daughter tuber that is putting out new sprouts be any good come harvest time?

 

[Honest john]

So will the daughter tuber that is putting out new sprouts be any good come harvest time?

You will have to wait & see.

If the tops & roots can feed it then yes it can be.
Ie if it keeps raining & there is time then yes.

If not it may not.

What’s happened is the plant has stressed out & stopped forming tubbers or aborted some to stay alive.
Now it’s decided that time is short so producing a 2nd flush from chains instead of setting new tubbers from the stems.

Your next Question is Fazor or not.

See Neil’s comment above.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

So will the daughter tuber that is putting out new sprouts be any good come harvest time?

Had a lot of this last year in Sagitta, but was due to little potato disorder. Even so the potatoes came alright in the end. Although yield was reduced.

I guess time will tell, if they get some good growing conditions from now on or not?

 

[Iben]

I'm 40 miles from Belfast and not one drop!

Was it just a localised downpour that we have seen on tv? They made it sound most of ireland was a washout.

 

[Fubar]

You will have to wait & see.

If the tops & roots can feed it then yes it can be.
Ie if it keeps raining & there is time then yes.

If not it may not.

What’s happened is the plant has stressed out & stopped forming tubbers or aborted some to stay alive.
Now it’s decided that time is short so producing a 2nd flush from chains instead of setting new tubbers from the stems.

Your next Question is Fazor or not.

See Neil’s comment above.

If the new tubers weren't going to be detrimental to the daughter then I wouldn't be too worried. Although I've got high tuber numbers already. Plant is going to struggle to feed what is there now without any more water. Fazor will surely stop any secondary growth and dollies.
Can it be applied with blight spray ?
How long will it take to work it's way down to the tubers? Label says not to harvest for at least 3 weeks. If it takes that long to travel down then the damage may already be done by then.

 

[ridger]

Was it just a localised downpour that we have seen on tv? They made it sound most of ireland was a washout.

I was around most of the northwest yesterday and seen not even a shower, must have all been in the East.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

@Fubar, my agronomist was talking about putting fazor in with infinito next wk.

Really need to get out there with something a bit more robust than curzate I think. Have been a bit lax with blight spraying lately too.

 

[Boohoo]

I was around most of the northwest yesterday and seen not even a shower, must have all been in the East.

The area around Antrim got the worst of it, 88mm recorded at Aldergrove. More rain in a few hours than we usually get in the whole of July