Potato Grower

WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 53 COLORADO Andrew Houser Manager Colorado Potato Certification Service Planting of Colorado seed potatoes went well in the spring of 2021; however, many farms were hit with multiple hail events, affecting random fields at different times throughout the summer. Overall, day temperatures were warmer than average with cool night temperatures—ideal conditions for potato production. Hail set the crop back, depending on the damage severity and timing of the hail event. This made for difficult visual inspections in some cases. Certified seed growers began killing vines in late July and continued through mid-August, limiting potential spread of virus by late-season aphid flights. Overall, crop yields have hovered around average to slightly below average, depending on variety grown and severity of hail damage during the summer months. Colorado's post-harvest test is taking place on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, this winter. Colorado certified seed potato acreage for sale and grower plant-back was down from 8,504 acres in 2020 to 7,784 in 2021. The 2021 accepted certified acreage after summer field inspections was 7,631 acres. Rejections were caused by blackleg, PVY/mosaic and variety mix. Total potato acreage in the San Luis Valley was 48,265 acres, down from 50,923 acres in 2020. The 2021 top five certified potato varieties in Colorado are: 1. Russet Norkotah selections: 1,976 acres 2. Canela Russet: 695 acres 3. Reveille Russet: 617 acres 4. Centennial Russet: 531 acres 5. Soraya: 394 acres An official 2021 certified seed directory is posted online at potatoes.colostate.edu. Additional information on Colorado's certified seed can be found on the Colorado Certified Potato Growers' Association website at www.coloradocertifiedpotatogrowers.com. All seed lots imported into Colorado are required to undergo a post-harvest test, a lab test for PVY N , and a lab test for late blight to comply with the late blight quarantine for all seed coming into the San Luis Valley. IDAHO Alan Westra Southeast Area Manager Idaho Crop Improvement Association, Inc. The 2021 season in Idaho began with normal weather and planting was completed without serious interruption. Abnormally hot and hazy conditions prevailed from June through mid-August, and exacerbated concerns about potential water shortages. Most growers did have sufficient water to complete their potato crops, in some cases at the expense of rotation crops. The latter half of August and all of September were more seasonable. Harvest generally proceeded at normal pace. Yields are reported to be lower—significantly so in some cases—but seed quality going into storage has been reported as excellent. The 2021 crop appears to have a very nice size profile. Seed health was also good this year. During summer inspections, the number of seed lots with visually detectable levels of PVY increased slightly over 2020, but remains below the 10-year average of 7.8%. Blackleg levels were normal and, once again, there were no detections of potato leaf roll or bacterial ring rot this year. A complete listing of this year's seed potato crop is available in the 2021 Idaho Certified Seed Potato Directory. This is posted on the Idaho Crop Improvement Association, Inc. website at www.idahocrop.com. At the conclusion of the second round of field inspections, a total of 30,940 acres were eligible for final certification this year. This is an increase of 2.9 percent from 2020 and, excluding proprietary genetics, includes a total of 133 varieties, selections and advanced clones. Ten varieties account for more than 80% of the total acres, with Russet Burbank, Russet Norkotah (all strains), Ranger Russet, Clearwater Russet, and Alturas continuing as the dominant varieties. Field of certified seed potatoes at San Acacio Seed Farm in San Luis, Colorado Seed potatoes are harvested at Skyline Farms near Newdale, Idaho

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