Potato Crop Looking 'Excellent'

Manitoba's potato crop is looking good in most areas of the province.

Vikram Bisht is with Manitoba Agriculture.

"At the moment, the potato crop, in most of the province, looks excellent. Other than some heat issues in some fields, with the sprouts happening...The problem is in areas where the potato fields are not irrigated. In some areas, there's not enough moisture and the added heat may create certain issues."

He commented further on irrigation.

"A lot of farmers are supplementing whatever they can and the crop is in good tuber formation. They are about dime size, in some cases, loonie size. This is a good time to irrigate. A lot of people are trying to maintain about 70 per cent soil moisture, which is a good thing in areas where you don't have much irrigation possibly. The soil moisture could be raised to about 50 or 60 per cent if that is possible. This is the critical stage to set the potential for the crop for the whole season."

Bisht says they are monitoring for late blight spores.

He adds Colorado potato beetles are showing up in some areas and European corn borer populations are at peak. Aphids are also being monitored with higher levels being reported.