New document 4

growers-advice-fight-against-blight-potato-outgrade-hygiene.pdf

This report provides the best practice advice for potato outgrade control. Left uncontrolled, outgrade piles act as a reservoir for blight infection. The report focused on minimizing the impact of potato outgrades. This included easy access to outgrade piles away from potato crops and farm buildings, site piles on land not intended for any crop or any potato crop in the future, not to risk polluting watercourses, locate piles away from ditches and rivers or groundwater etc. Control measures emphasised on adopting a zero tolerance approach to green foliage on outgrade piles by tackling it early; relying on a late application of glyphosate or diquat + paraquat is a high risk strategy as blight may already have spread by this point. The report also provided a strategy for the prevention of green foliage and highlighted regulations for agricultural waste management in the UK.

New Document 3

growers-advice-fight-against-blight-volunteer-control.pdf

Growers’ advice to reduce the impact of blight through cultural methods and the use of herbicides to control volunteer potatoes. Volunteer potatoes act as a primary infection source by over-wintering infected tubers, and provide unprotected foliage that can act as an entry point throughout the season for blight. They can also act as a reservoir or a host for other problems such as spraing, potato cyst nematodes (PCN), black scurf, black dot, powdery scab etc. Volunteers are also a host for aphids and aphid transmitted potato viruses. The report provides facts backed by evidence from trials about the problem and describes cultural and chemical methods of control. An integrated control strategy was suggested emphasising on optimising tuber size distribution, applying maleic hydrazide, setting the harvester to lift smaller tubers where possible, keeping returned tubers near the soil surface, following with a competitive crop, hitting volunteers whenever possible as no single herbicide treatment is entirely effective, using selective herbicides in the following crops, using pre-harvest glyphosate, cleaning up stubbles with glyphosate and watching out for volunteers in shaded crops like winter oilseed rape and maize.

New document 2

growers-advice-fight-against-blight-advice-for-growers-of-organic-crops.pdf

Fight against Blight: Advice for growers of organic crops

Integrated measures to avoid, prevent or delay the onset of blight (Phytophthora infestans) in organically produced potatoes.

This report provides a comprehensive guide to blight control in organically produced potatoes. It emphasises on the integration of different cultural measures. Cultural methods that were addressed included variety choice based on NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge) ratings, seed quality and management, site characteristics, planting date and planting, crop nutrition, irrigation, crop infection, defoliation, crop hygiene and observations. The scope for fungicide use is severely limited in organic crops. However, the report provides useful advice on the circumstances under which registered protectant chemical compounds can be used and the protocol to be followed. Protectant copper compounds, which are the only fungicide used in organic potato production for blight control, were due to be prohibited in the EU from March 2002, but removal has been delayed until effective control methods are developed, though the uses of these compounds were progressively restricted.

New document

Erwinia chrysanthemi (Dickeya spp.): What it is, and what you can do

Erwinia chrysanthemi (Dickeya spp.), the cause of bacterial stem rot in potato – Importance of the disease and a guide to minimise the risk to the crop.

 Erwinia chrysanthemi (or Dickeya dianthicola – the species that has been found in the UK) was first reported on potato in the Netherlands in the 1970s and has since been reported on potato in a number of other European countries, including England during 1990. The disease can be economically damaging in potato, causing sporadic stem rots with the potential of high levels of wilting when the temperature rises above 25ºC. A summary points of best practices were outlined emphasising on checking varietal susceptibility, removing rots and clean grader prior to grading, avoiding poorly-drained fields, avoiding short rotations, using diagnostics to test seed stocks for Erwinia, avoiding de-sprouting at planting, avoiding over-irrigation, harvesting early, minimising damage at harvest and ventilating during early storage using dry air. Useful references were also highlighted including a summary of the British Potato Council’s (BPC) report: Erwinia chrysanthemi (Dickeya spp.) – The Facts by Elphinstone and Toth, available on the BPC website, or from BPC publications.

Potato crop for preserving

CULTURE DE LA POMME DE TERRE 

ARVALIS INSTITUT DU VEGETAL

This practical guide gives all the information about crop technicals, harvest, preserving on potatoes.

 

Résumé français

Entièrement réactualisé en 2004, ce guide pratique apporte un éclairage complet et synthétique sur les techniques de culture, de récolte et de conservation de la pomme de terre.
Il constitue un document de référence, indispensable aux professionnels, agriculteurs et techniciens, enseignants et étudiants, souhaitant actualiser leurs connaissances ou acquérir les bases de la culture de la pomme de terre.

 

Main insects – pests in potato crop

 

 

PRINCIPAUX RAVAGEURS DES POMMES DE TERRE

 

ARVALIS Institut du Végétal

 

This practical guide presents, in sheets form,  all the knowledge on main pests on Potato crop (biology, integrated crop control,…): wire worms, Potato tuber worm, Colorado potato beetle, slugs, aphids

Résumé français

Présenté sous forme de fiches, ce guide pratique regroupe l’ensemble des connaissances actuelles (biologie, méthode de lutte…) sur les principaux ravageurs de la pomme de terre : Taupins – Teigne – Doryphore – Limaces – Puceron.

 

Potatoes storage and preserving

 

STOCKAGE ET CONSERVATION DE LA POMME DE TERRE

 

ARVALIS INSTITUT DU VEGETAL

 

After an information on tuber behaviour in preserving and agronomic and food consequences, this booklet gives details about technical and economic sides of potatoes storage and preserving: buildings, thermal insulation, ventilation, cooling, regulation and preserving management.

Résumé français

Après un rappel du comportement du tubercule en conservation et ses conséquences agronomiques et alimentaires, cette brochure détaille les différents aspects techniques et économiques du stockage et de la conservation de la pomme de terre : construction des bâtiments, isolation thermique, ventilation, réfrigération, régulation et conduite de la conservation.

Potato crop protection against diseases, pests, weeds and haulm dessication and germination

 

Leaflet, pocket format, about all French crop protection products usable on Potatoes: soil treatments, seeds treatments, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, haulm desiccation, tuber treatments.

PROTECTION DES POMMES DE TERRE : LUTTE CONTRE LES MALADIES, LES RAVAGEURS, LES MAUVAISES HERBES, LE DÉFANAGE ET LA GERMINATION 2007

 

ARVALIS INSTITUT DU VEGETAL 

 

Date: june 2007Price: 5 €

The informations of this leaflet is a synthesis from all trials made by Arvalis institut du végétal

Résumé français

Dépliant au format de poche, présentant toutes les spécialités commerciales utilisables sur pomme de terre pour chaque domaine de la protection des cultures : traitement du sol, traitement des plants, herbicides, fongicides, insecticides en végétation, défanage et traitement des tubercules

Results of swap-cpp project on potatoes culture in Belgium

This document presents the results of different methods to prevent transfert of pesticides to water in potatoes fields.

 

Résultats du projet swap-cpp

 

A. Maugnard & J.P. Barthélémy (Faculté de Gembloux)

B. Bodson & D.Xanthoulis (FUSAGx)

J.P. Goffart (Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques)

 

Potatoes culture needs important quantities of crop protection products. It is also particularly sensitive to the run-off and erosion which cause the transfer of a part of these products towards the surface water. In order to limit these transfers, two agri-environmental practices have been tested: the grass strip (12m) and the tie-ridge of the rows, a new technique that consists in establishing little dams with regular intervals within the rows. An experimentation has been implemented in order to compare the quantities of water, sediments and crop protection products exported for four methods: reference (with no particular settings), grass strip, tie-ridge of the rows, combination “grass strip and tie-ridge of the rows”.The results show that for a simple grass strip, volumes of water decreased by approximately 50% and the quantities exported by 2/3 for the sediments and about 70% in the mean for the crop protection products.For a simple tie-ridge of the rows, the volumes of water, the quantities of sediments and crop protection products exported are decreased by more than 97%.The combination grass strip and tie-ridge completely prevents the diffuse transfer.The tie-ridge shows the best ratio cost / effectiveness with a cost of 45 € / ha in the mean.A test of modelling of the diffuse transfer of crop protection products and a determination of high-risk cultural context at the Europe-wide scale have also been carried out

This document is based on two years trials in Wallony by Université Agronomique de Gembloux in 2006 and 2007 financed by Life project (Surface Water Against Diffuse Crop Protection Products = SWAP-CPP).

Résumé français

La culture de la pomme de terre fait intervenir de grandes quantities de produits phytopharmaceutiques. Il s’agit également d’une culture sensible aux problèmes de ruissellement et d’érosion qui sont à l’origine du transfert d’une partie de ces produits vers les cours d’eau.

Afin de limiter ces transferts, deux dispositifs agro-environnementaux ont été testés : la bande enherbée de 12m et le cloisonnement des interbuttes, une technique innovante qui consiste à implanter des mini-barrages à intervalles réguliers au niveau des interbuttes de pomme de terre. L’essai mis en place a permis de comparer les quantités d’eau, de sédiments et de produits phytosanitaires exportés hors culture pour quatre modalités :

-         aucun aménagement (témoin)

-         implantation d’une bande enherbée

-         cloisonnement des interbuttes

-         combinaison bande enherbée et cloisonnement

Les résultats montrent que pour une bande enherbée seule, les volumes d’eau ruisselée sont diminués d’environ 50%, les quantités exportées de 2/3 pour les sédiments et de près de 70% en moyenne pour les produits phytosanitaires exportés. Pour un simple cloisonnement des interbuttes , les volumes d’eau ruisselée, les quantités de sédiments et de produits phytosanitaires sont diminués de plus de 97%. La combinaison bande enherbée et cloisonnement empêche totalement les transferts. le cloisonnement représente le rapport coût/efficacité le plus intéressant avec un coût de mise en place de 45 € /ha en moyenne.

Un essai de modélisation des transferts diffus de produits phytosanitaires et une détermination des contextes culturaux à risque à une échelle européenne ont également été réalisés.

 

Wire worms: a long long way

 

This document presents the sensibility of different crops to wire worms and the solutions against them crop by crop.

 

Dossier taupins: une lutte de longue haleine

Pierre Taupin & Bernard Naïbo (Arvalis Institut du Végétal), Yannick Ballanger (Cetiom), Claude Muchembled (Institut Technique de la Betterave)  

The recommandations in potatoes are to plant in healthy soil.

We have to wait two years after pasture or vegetable crops.

The efficacy of products (ethoprophos, fosthiazate) is limited to 3 months.

 

The results are based from French institutes applied research field trials network.

 

Table 1 shows the crop sensibility:

Période de sensibilité de la culture = Sensibility period

Nature des attaques = organs (graines = seeds ; racine = root ; tige = stem ; tubercule = tuber, radicelle = rootlet)

Importance des dégâts sur le rendement = Damages on yield

                                   Sur la qualité = Damages on quality

Fréquence des dégâts = Damages frequency

Evolution des attaques depuis quelques années = Damages evolution

 

This article is from Perspectives Agricoles magazine n°339 (http://www.perspectives-agricoles.com/)

 

 Résumé français

La population larvaire de taupins présente dans une parcelle est constituée d’individus d’âges différents notamment pour les taupins à cycle long. Il est donc nécessaire d’engager une lutte sur plusieurs années pour espérer réduire le niveau de la population. Elle doit s’appuyer sur des leviers agronomiques comme la rotation et les travaux du sol, en association avec les solutions chimiques. L’article dresse le panorama des préconisations culture par culture.