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Spud conference to focus on sustainability
Efficient practices
seen as anchor amid
economic turmoil
January 8, 2009
The University of Idaho's 41st annual potato conference Jan. 21-22 in Pocatello will focus on helping growers maintain efficient, sustainable and profitable operations. It's a challenging goal, especially in today's volatile economic climate. "What we're seeing in the world right now is volatility," said Nora Olsen, conference chairwoman and extension potato specialist. "If we can stabilize ourselves through efficiency and good sustainability practices, we'll be able to better deal with the current economic turmoil." John Keeling, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the National Potato Council, will address the conference's keynote sustainability symposium on Jan. 21. The council is helping growers develop sustainability guidelines that will be consistent and workable at the farm level and provide measurable results for others in the supply chain, Keeling said. "Sustainability and economic viability have to be directly linked in any description of sustainable farming," Keeling said. "The principles that have kept successful farming families on the farm for generations are the core principles of sustainability." Other conference seminars will address the economic downturn's impacts on the U.S. potato industry, market changes, cooperatives, production costs, exports, fertilizer cost reduction, early-planting risks, overlooked plant diseases, nematode management and observations regarding the past field season. UI Extension nematologist Saad Hafez will discuss different options for nematode management and present an update on research. The potato industry has increased its focus on nematodes since the discovery of pale cyst nematodes in Eastern Idaho in 2006 - the first confirmed finding in the United States. The discovery prompted a U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantine and launched a federal-state eradication effort that's still under way. Yet for all the attention the potato cyst nematode has received, it remains confined to only a few fields in Idaho and hasn't caused the kind of crop losses that other nematode species routinely cause. The root-knot nematode poses a major problem for Idaho potato growers, Hafez said. About 30 to 35 percent of the potato ground in the state is infested with the pest, he said. Root-knot nematodes can cause enlargement or bumps on outer tuber layers, rendering them useless for either fresh packing or processing. Growers may be able to sell non-affected tubers when field infestation levels are low and potatoes are in short supply. But when spuds are plentiful, the entire crop is likely to be rejected. "If you can't control it or don't treat for it, you can lose 100 percent of your crop," Hafez said. Other nematodes of concern to Idaho potato growers include the stubby-root nematode and the root-lesion nematode, he said. Stubby-root nematodes can lead to a disease called corky ring spot, which shows up as rusty brown, irregularly shaped lesions in tuber flesh, Hafez said. Root-lesion nematodes can reduce yield indirectly by weakening and increasing stress on the plants and by making them more susceptible to disease, he said. Other workshop presenters will cover such topics as bed planting under sprinkler irrigation, new variety production, long-term impacts of short rotations, production and economics of organic potatoes, accessing market information on the Web, precision planting, production cost analysis, humic acids, field burning, pesticide disposal and Good Agricultural Practices audits. Potato packers can learn about food safety while Hispanic farmworkers can attend Spanish-language workshops on noxious weeds, insects, bruising, diseases, fungicides, herbicides, bee protection and the university's new field guide to potato pests in English and Spanish. The conference, held at Idaho State University's Pond Student Union Building, is scheduled for 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, and 8:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22. Staff writer Dave Wilkins is based in Twin Falls, Idaho. E-mail: dwilkins@capitalpress.com. |
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