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Potato Planting Progressing

Potato planting has started in Manitoba.

Vikram Bisht, with Manitoba Agriculture, gave us an update.

"They started last Friday," he said. "They were hoping to go about a week earlier but this cold weather snap, and the snowfall, basically delayed the plans. We are now about normal. We were thinking that it might be earlier planting. The ground is a bit dry, some of the growers may have to find sources of water and soon."

He expects to see a few thousand acres more than last year, which saw 70,000 plus acres grown in Manitoba.

Bisht says its important for potato growers to wait for the soils to warm up, adding the slower the potatoes emerge, the greater the chance of disease.

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Seed Storage: Protecting Quality from Harvest to Planting

Video: Seed Storage: Protecting Quality from Harvest to Planting

Protecting seed quality starts in the field and continues through storage until planting — that was the focus of the Spud Smart–NAPSO webinar with Leroy Salazar, Amanda Wakasugi and Bill Crowder. Speakers stressed that vine kill timing, harvest conditions (soil moisture, pulp temperature), and minimizing mechanical damage set the stage for successful storage; modern buildings, calibrated sensors, VFD-controlled airflow,

rapid field-heat removal, and tight temperature uniformity then preserve seed quality. Ongoing monitoring for hot spots, condensation and early issues, plus sanitation and variety-specific handling, keep losses low and seed viable for shipping or cutting.