Potatoes show signs of stress as drought strikes

With the Environment Agency confirming this week that more than half of England is now officially in drought, potato crops are showing increasing signs of stress.

“There’s no doubt that crops are under pressure,” said Alex Godfrey, chairman at GB Potatoes.

“Speaking to growers, there is a view that the main crop has potential, but that is at risk if they can’t get sufficient water.”

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Those with irrigation are also increasingly facing abstraction restrictions.

“There are a lot of restrictions in place, and there are stories of reservoirs now being empty,” said Mr Godfrey.

“We are asking the government for a simple and consistent planning and abstraction regime, that’s implemented sensibly and proportionately by the Environment Agency and local planning authorities, to give us water security for summers to come.”

The drought conditions are likely to increase dry matter in the crop, making potatoes harder to handle.

“It’s difficult to say at this stage, but I suspect the supply chain might want to be looking at specifications now, to ensure it can make the crop last,” said Mr Godfrey.

“Strategies will be put in place, so I’m confident that supply will be managed.”

With much of the crop still to bulk up, buyers will be watching conditions closely, as the weather is likely to influence yield and availability.

Devonshire grower Jeremy Oatey who grows 242ha of potatoes at Hay Farm near Torpoint, has started lifting potatoes for crisping and reports yields at about 80-85% of “normal”.

“The crops that went in well and reasonably early have grown well, but the later-planted crops are the ones suffering the most,” he said.

“It’s a hard one to call; it’s not going to be a good year, but I don’t think it’s going to be terrible. We went through a stage of very high blight pressure, when the humidity was high, but that seems to have eased off now.”

He irrigates about 30% of his potato crop. “Irrigation has undoubtedly helped this year; the key thing is water availability.”