A system of “pest-free places of production” (PFPP) is now on the drawing board for Prince Edward Island’s potato sector, following a meeting between federal and industry officials. Federal Agriculture Minister and P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay on Friday reported meeting with staff and representatives of the P.E.I. Potato Board, to discuss next steps in the […] Read more
Tag Archives potatoes — page 3
P.E.I. potato growers, CFIA to draft plan for ‘pest-free places’
Plan would support movement of seed potatoes, feds say
Mid-summer conditions raise alerts about late blight in potatoes
Growers are advised to scout and be proactive with fungicides
Late July brings a variety of conditions to potato fields across the province, and one common theme unites them all: late blight. The fungal disease has become serious in the past five or six years, garnering more attention through monitoring, the placement of spore traps and through regular updates courtesy of the Ontario Potato Board’s […] Read more
Alberta potatoes chip in $2.9 billion for Canadian economy
New report verifies what many in industry suspected
Alberta’s potato industry is making a big impact — not just on that province but the entire country. A new report — dubbed a “landmark study” by the Potato Growers of Alberta — revealed the sector drove a total contribution of $2.87 billion to Canada’s economy in 2022. It also notes the nationwide creation of […] Read more
Management of potato virus Y enters new stage
Researcher indicates seed potato producers are at greater risk
Potato growers in Ontario are under constant pressure to manage blight and rhizoctonia. Long-term research shows that potato virus Y, or PVY, is another disease of concern, particularly to potato growers with both seed and processing crops. PVY isn’t new to Ontario, but research shows strains are evolving. That is the finding of a study […] Read more
Minimizing fertilizer use with in-field plant nutrient analysis
Optical sensing technology scans plant leaves to identify crop nutrient and micronutrient deficiencies in less than five minutes
A New Brunswick precision agriculture startup has attracted $1.45 million in investment for its real-time nutrient tissue analysis technology. Picketa Systems’ trademarked Leaf Evaluated Nutrient System (LENS) has marked early success in potatoes and will expand its plant tissue sampling innovation into other crops to help farmers make more informed crop management decisions. Why it […] Read more
The emerging story on Ontario potatoes
Early planting in some regions has growers anticipating solid yields
Despite concerns that early planting may have been a little too early, reports from the Ontario Potato Board are favourable. Farmers in the southwestern part of the province planted potato crops last month that are now emerging after hit-and-miss weather through much of April. Why it matters: Timing of potato planting has varied widely across […] Read more
Vive Crop Protection receives first Canadian product registration
Canadian company developed unique technology that increases efficacy of active ingredients
A Canadian crop protection company, whose patented technology has its roots in research from the University of Toronto, has received its first Canadian product registration. Vive Crop Protection Inc.’s AZteroid FC 3.3 fungicide is labelled for in-furrow use on potatoes against black scurf, silver scurf, and rhizoctonia disease, and is available through UAP Canada. The […] Read more
Potato industry looking to diversify mini-tuber production
With closure of SPUD Unit, industry considers options
A well-known Ontario potato breeder is looking to enlist participants in the production of potato minitubers. Peter VanderZaag, a potato breeder with Sunrise Potato in Alliston, Ont., gave a presentation on minituber production at the Ontario Potato Conference March 2 in Guelph. With the impending closure of the University of Guelph’s SPUD Unit in New […] Read more
Potato wart survey gives clean bill of health
Fields across Canada with a history of getting seed potatoes from P.E.I. tested negative
A national survey on the watch for potato wart has come back clean. On March 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said results from their 2022 potato wart survey had not found any cases of the soil-borne fungus. The agency had tested nearly 1,500 soil samples from fields in British Columbia, the three Prairie […] Read more
McCain to double Alberta french fry plant capacity
Lethbridge-area plant to more than double staff count
Alberta’s plans to boost its irrigated acres are being met near the starting line with a major french fry producer’s plans to double the capacity of its plant there. McCain Foods announced Monday it will put up $600 million to build two new production lines for frozen french fries and potato specialty goods at its […] Read more
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