THE FIFTH annual potato conference hosted by the Scottish Agricultural College‘s Association of Potato Growers will be open to non-members for the first time next January.

The conference will be held near Perth on Jan 26 2005 and aims to address a range of practical issues related to profitable potato production, organisers said.

“The aim of the conference is to bring together an audience from across the industry to share knowledge on recent developments and examine the challenges and opportunities ahead,” said the SAC‘s Stuart Wale.

Topics and speakers at the conference include:

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  Why are growers so reluctant to change? – Darryl Shailes (Hutchinsons Crop Production)
  
  
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  Can Scottish growers compete with those in East Anglia? – Alan Renwick (SAC)
  
  
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  Getting the best out of ‘in-field‘ spray applications and ‘on-planter‘ soil treatment – Tom Robinson (Syngenta)
  
  
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  Tackling the growing problem of black dot – Alex Hilton (SAC)

The conference is free to SAC APP members, £45+VAT for non-member growers and £95+VAT for agronomists and the potato trade.

Further details are available from Sandra.Chalmers@sac.co.uk.