PSI Bulletin: Aug 23
No. 8/23 SUBSCRIBER EDITION: please go to potatostorageinsight.com/subscribe to sign up
Welcome to the latest edition of Synopsis, PSI's update for August 2023 of news, technical content and up-to-the-minute information about developments in potato storage.
In this month's Best Practice slot, we will be looking at planning and preparations for a new storage season. Our Technical Insight feature has information about new compliance requirements and a temporary MRL for CIPC residues which have been recently announced by CRD and we have also have the usual events listing.
July's weather for the most part has been wet with some parts of the country struggling to find dry enough 'windows' between the rain to get blight sprays on and maleic hydrazide treatments underway. This has put added pressure on some crops which were already striving to recover from delayed planting and/or poor soil conditions. But it is still worth putting MH on to any crops that are actively growing to get that all-important residual control of sprouting for storage (see our July bulletin)
Keeping on top of blight will be a key element of pre-harvest management especially if warm and wet conditions persist. Many crops have developed large canopies which can provide an ideal breeding ground for blight infections and heighten the risk of tuber blight development which could then transfer into storage.
POTATO STORAGE INSIGHT (PSI) ACTIVITY
Work on store audits has continued in July and into August and in the last month we have ventured into Yorkshire, Northumberland and most recently into Scotland (below) including a
visit to the Potatoes in Practice event at James Hutton Institute, of which there is more below.
Whole Crop Marketing event
A very good turnout of growers and associated parties visited the WCM potato day held at South Cave just north of the Humber on 27 July.
Potatoes in Practice
The annual pilgrimage north to PiP on 10 August was a chance to catch up with growers from further afield and see the second set of new experimental stores which have been constructed at the James Hutton Institute (JHI) in Dundee, as we reported last month. Finishing touches have been made to the stores with the recent addition of fogging ports and installation of external roller doors to the umbrella building taking place at the time PSI were on site.
It was good to hear about the positive progress being made at JHI not only with the new facility, but also the wider project to establish a new National Potato Innovation Centre, which was described by Prof Ian Toth, the new head of the NPIC, in the seminar session at PiP.
There was a wide range of trial plots and stands on show, as ever,
If you want to learn more about the new storage research capability, please note that you should contact Faye Ritchie at ADAS or Derek Stewart at JHI in the first instance.
Harrogate seminars
PSI is delighted to have been asked to provide input to the storage seminars which will be held at this year's BP2023 event in Harrogate, being held once again at the Great Yorkshire Showground site on the outskirts of the town on 22 & 23 November.
Adrian Cunnington (pictured, right) will be amongst key industry speakers contributing on energy efficiency and optimal use of sprout suppressants on Day 1 of the two day show.
Tickets can now be booked via the event website. Registration is FREE. Click here to go to the event registration page.
BEST PRACTICE for August/September
Preparing for another season of storage
August is often a very busy month with cereal harvest predominating, but it is important to keep an eye on preparations for potato harvest all the same. This will already be a major focus for salad growers and many of you will be monitoring crop development to check on quality and size profiles of crops in the field.
Keeping on top of blight will also be a key element of pre-harvest management especially if the combination of warm and wet weather persists. With the rain in July, a lot of crops have developed large canopies (some with and some without the tubers to match) which provide an ideal, out of sight breeding ground for fungal infections and heighten the risk of tuber blight development which could then transfer into storage.
The James Hutton Institute runs the Fight Against Blight monitoring service for industry and the BlightSpy forecasting tool. Fight Against Blight is kindly being sponsored currently by UPL, BASF, Bayer, Certis Belchim, Corteva, Syngenta, Agrii, Agrovista, FMC, Frontier, GB Potatoes, McCain, Scottish Agronomy, Seed Potato Organisation, Agrico and Branston.
Here is the BlightSpy map at 17 August 2023 showing the impact of recent weather on blight risk across the country. The red dots indicate full Hutton alerts so complacency is not an option!
Early harvest is a key factor in achieving good quality out of storage and, although many crops were perhaps a week or two behind a 'normal season', aiming to store in September and October is the best way to manage risk.
The other factor crucial for good storage is to have a good 'set' skin (more of which next month), so it is important to plan defoliation back from your target harvest dates to allow enough time for haulm to be desiccated. This will help to avoid having crops entering store with marginal skin set which never bodes well for long-term storage,
As a guide, without any exceptional weather interventions, it is preferable to plan to have stores filled and closed by 20th October. This then allows time, if there any interruptions to harvest, to still get crops put away by the end of the month. There is plenty of data to highlight increased risks of crop loss from November harvests - or later.
If, as we move into a new storage season, you'd like to review how well your store has been working and to get advice on how your storage can be further optimised, please get in touch with Adrian Cunnington at PSI on 07970 072260.
TECHNICAL INSIGHT
CIPC temporary MRL formally announced by CRD
The Chemical Regulation Division (CRD) of the Health & Safety Executive, which regulates agrochemical use in the UK, has announced plans for the introduction of a temporary Maximum Residue Level for chlorpropham (CIPC). This is something that has already been in place in Europe for sometime following the withdrawal of approval for CIPC in 2020.
This is the text of their announcement made last month:
HSE has now completed the review of the MRLs for chlorpropham. Based on the information and data available HSE has proposed that a temporary MRL (tMRL) of 0.35 mg/kg is set for potatoes to address potential contamination. HSE’s draft Reasoned Opinion has been published on our website and is available here: The review of the existing MRLs for chlorpropham (hse.gov.uk)
HSE has proposed that the tMRL will be set for a period of 5 years. However, the continued validity of the tMRL must be reassessed every 12 months. To support this reassessment additional information (i.e. supplementary information requirements) will need to be submitted. In addition before the 5 year deadline expires, or sooner if requested by HSE, an application to lower the tMRL will need to be submitted. The full details of the supplementary information requirements are outlined in the draft Reasoned Opinion. All parties involved in the trade of stored potatoes such as growers, producers of proceed potato commodities and traders will need to ensure compliance with the tMRL and ensure the MRL supplementary information is submitted to HSE. No fee will be charged for the annual submission and review of the monitoring data. A fee will be applied to fully assess all the data when it is appropriate to lower the tMRL, which will be at the latest at the 5 year deadline. Multiple applications to lower the tMRL may all incur a fee. Interested parties are therefore encouraged to work together to generate the required information. HSE is happy to discuss the MRL supplementary information requirements further with interested parties. It would be helpful for interested parties to appoint a main point of contact for HSE to liaise through and to provide assurance the required data are being generated.
If the data are not provided, the MRL may be lowered to the LOQ of 0.01* mg/kg.
To meet the UK’s international trade obligations, the proposed MRLs for chlorpropham will be notified to the World Trade Organization. On completion of this process, HSE will publish a final Reasoned Opinion and send out an ebulletin outlining the final MRLs that will be adopted, the supplementary information required for the tMRL and the date of entry into force of the new tMRL. Provisionally, it is proposed that the tMRL will be adopted on 10th October 2023 and the date of entry into force will be 10 April 2024. You can sign up to receive ebulletins here: HSE eBulletins: subscription preferences (govdelivery.com).
The implications of this are that potatoes sold in the UK will be subject to checks to ensure they meet the tMRL. Specifically, crops held in any stores previously treated with CIPC will need to comply and the potato industry will be under an obligation to provide evidence to show that samples taken from such stores are meeting the new tMRL.
Steps are already being taken to initiate collection of data from routine testing to meet this requirement, but this process will be greatly helped if businesses are prepared to offer this voluntarily. Please email PSI if you are willing to assist,
BASF LAUNCH NEW SEED TREATMENT PRODUCT: HONESTY®
Wide-ranging control claimed for new fungicide
BASF has launched Honesty®, a new liquid seed tuber treatment that is approved for use on all potato crops and is claimed to provide "strong broad spectrum disease control". Here is the text of their press release:
Luke Pollard (BASF Campaign Manager Speciality Crops) said, “Honesty contains Xemium (fluxapyroxad) an SDHI fungicide which has the potential to be a real game changer for the potato industry as it delivers the best reduction of Rhizoctonia, silver scurf and black dot, and has incidental activity against dry rot, gangrene and more.”
Even at low levels of infection Rhizoctonia can have a significant impact on yield, with direct losses, by weight, of up to 30% reported and not only that, Rhizoctonia also affects the marketability of the crop. Silver scurf and black dot, blemish diseases, are together estimated to cause annual losses in the region of £5 million to the industry according to Fera Science Ltd.
Mr Pollard said, “We’re really excited about Honesty because not only does it give comprehensive disease control it also brings additional physiological benefits to the crop giving more even stolon initiation which results in even, good looking potatoes and so more marketable grade out.”
Ease of application Paul Goddard (BASF Business Development Manager for Speciality Crops) said, “Honesty is applied using a roller table at a rate of 0.2 l/t, with 0.05 l/t of application enhancer, available as an 'Honesty Potato Pack'. Honesty gives excellent coverage, and the integral blue colouring solution ensures those applying the product and growers can readily see the fungicide coverage which is hugely beneficial. An application of Honesty also assists in the drying of tubers.”
Honesty® label flexibility Independent agronomist Paul Overton said: “I really like Honesty’s label because it does give me flexibility. I am able to treat seed for seed, for ware and for processing and that, together with the fact that tuber application is not tied to planting date makes it very adaptable.”
Honesty® works on all varieties Mr Overton said: “Working with BASF, we have trialled Honesty widely over the last 3 seasons in varied climatic conditions and soil types. We have also used different varieties in the trials; 30 of the top varieties which have been multiplied in Scotland over the last two years and we have applied Honesty both early and late in the season and have found no ill effects whatsoever on any variety." “Combined with a soil treatment I think Honesty also gives good stem canker control too, which is the other phase of Rhizoctonia, so in my soils at home I’ve got all the bases covered, giving the crop the best possible start."
Honesty® Stewardship
BASF is dedicated to helping customers achieve the highest possible tuber yields and quality and will therefore advise all customers to follow the guidance provided in our Honesty stewardship scheme.
More information on the product is available at: agricentre.basf.co.uk/potatoes
SNIPPETS
GB POTATOES NEWSLETTER
Keep an eye out for the next technical newsletter from GB Potatoes which includes a contribution from Potato Storage Insight to some general guidance on store loading.
An excellent example of the need for an independent industry organisation like GBP is illustrated by the situation that has arisen with the CIPC tMRL (see Technical Insight), where data is being asked for from industry to support the tMRL and to avoid the MRL defaulting to the limit of detection. Please consider signing up as a GB Potatoes member to support your industry collectively.
More information on GB Potatoes, their outputs and how to subscribe is available at www.gbpotatoes.co.uk.
EU HARVEST CONCERN
Potato News Today has reported the possibility of the smallest EU harvest on record in 2023. After facing uncertain and inclement weather and a decrease in planted area in key producing countries like Holland, Germany & Poland, market experts Mintec are predicting sustained demand for the crop this winter against a background of limited supply. All compounded by a shortage last year which is already starting to bite into new crop supplies.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Potato events in the coming weeks and months include:
Wed 30/Thu 31 Caythorpe Potato Breeders' Demo Day, Caythorpe, Lincs, NG32 3HE
Multiple breeder presence at a major field demonstration of varieties...
September
Mon 4 - Fri 8 EAPR Pathology & Pests Section Meeting, France www.eapr.net
to coincide with
Wed 6 & Thu 7 POTATO EUROPE Field Demonstration, Tournai, Belgium
November
Sun 12 - Sat 18 AGRITECHNICA, Hannover, Germany
World-leading trade fair for agricultural machinery
Wed 22/Thu 23 BP2023, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK
Biennial industry-wide exhibition and knowledge transfer opportunity for everything to do with potatoes. Seminar programme includes storage. Registration now open.
December
Tue 12 - Wed 13 CUPGRA Conference, Cambridge. Save the date!
2024 International Potato Events
10-11 Jan POTATO EXPO, Austin, Texas, USA
23-26 Jun* WORLD POTATO CONGRESS, Adelaide, Australia
7-12 Jul EAPR 22nd TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE, Oslo, Norway
24-26 Nov INTERPOM '24 Kortrijk, Belgium
*Apologies: the date previously published was incorrect
Remember you, or a colleague, can subscribe to Synopsis at any time by going to potatostorageinsight.com and clicking on SUBSCRIBE. We can also now take payments by credit card. Call Adrian on 01406 364795 or 07970 072260 if you have any questions.
During spring 2023, our first invoices went out for renewal of annual subscriptions to Synopsis taken out when our subscription service began last year. Further invoices are now following as individual subscribers reach the anniversary of their payment. A full year's subscription is great value at just £9/month (£108 + VAT per annum), so please renew promptly. Unpaid subscriptions will be closed within 8 weeks of invoice issue. Thank you.
Synopsis is published by Potato Storage Insight Ltd., 45 Main Street, Gedney Dyke, Spalding, PE12 0AJ. UK.
© Potato Storage Insight Ltd. 2023
Comments