UK: Potatoes in Practice event coming soon
The programmed takes the form of a full day of agronomy and variety demonstration plots with guided tours, a technical seminar program, research and trade stands, static and working machinery displays.
This year’s event will be held on August, 10, at the James Hutton Institute’s Balruddery Farm near Dundee. Attendees will be able to review crop varieties and the results of new crop treatments, attend live machinery demonstrations and discover the latest research on current issues impacting on the farming industry, as well as networking with colleagues, suppliers and experts.
The seminar program focuses on four key subjects: market intelligence; apps and diagnostic tools; late blight and agronomy. The market intelligence session will feature a talk by David Swales, AHDB Head of Strategic Insight, into the challenges and opportunities for the potato industry from Brexit and a consumer trends update.
Swales said: “Changes to trade regulations could present both challenges and opportunities for British potato growers. There is uncertainty over what trade agreements may be in place in our traditional seed markets, which are predominantly outside the EU, as we currently operate through EU trade agreements with these countries. Meanwhile, the possibility of tariffs and the weakness of the pound, may provide opportunities for growers to access the frozen processed potatoes market by replacing current imports with British grown product.”
Similarly, the diagnostic tools session will see demonstrations of new tools PotatoSize, Buntata and BlightWatch. The blight session includes a presentation on the newly announced Hutton Criteria for blight risk analysis, and the agronomy session features talks on the rise of potato cyst nematodes (PCN) in ware potatoes and Scotland’s green cover trials.
On-site demonstration topics will include the fight against blight; potato breeding, the Commonwealth Potato Collection and its recent seed deposit in the Crop Trust’s Global Seed Vault in Svalbard; waste reduction due to greening and research to climate-proof potato crops against heat and drought, all in addition to the traditional live machinery demos.
Source: potatobusiness.com
