Potato

Wild potato species occur from the United States to Uruguay and Chile.Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggest that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru,from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. However, although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile.Based on historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses, the most widely cultivated variety worldwide, Solanum tuberosum tuberosum, is believed to be indigenous to Chiloé Archipelago where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.
The technical challenges of coping with a reduced pesticide armoury were high on the agenda at a recent Potato Council Yorkshire Potato Day.If you rent land, don't saddle yourself with soil-borne threats. Techniculture's Neil Pratt told growers at the event they needed to plan carefully and gather as much information about rented land as possible.
Tackling potato cyst nematode had become increasingly hard for those on the Yorkshire Wolds. "It's largely come about as a result of short potato rotations. If you look at the advice given in the past, making decisions based on short-term yield responses, rather than long-term population control, you'll understand why we've ended up with the mess we have.
Growers should seriously question the economics of renting infested land, and clean land was likely to be offered at a premium, which might be well worth paying. "PCN is going to be increasingly hard and expensive to deal with. Good hygiene with machinery and seed is imperative; if you have clean land, keep it clean.
We have challenging soil conditions this year; just be patient and plant when soils are right. If the crop is limping along, the chances are it will catch a cold.