CULTIVATION AND TECHNOLOGY First experiences with Controlled Release Fertiliser in the cultivation of seed potatoes are promising It would be best to apply Agrocote in bands during planting, thus avoiding damage to the granules, which will reach the root zone as closely as possible. completely empty and the nitrogen has been absorbed by the plant. This means that there is also no danger of leaching and the fertiliser is therefore completely safe for the environment. As you don’t need to think about leaching, the application of nitrogen with Agrocote in seed potato can be 20 percent lower than regular fertilisation. An additional advantage is that it’s no longer necessary to apply extra fertiliser. As a result, a seed potato grower doesn’t have to worry about leaf scorching (granules on the leaves) and the selection process can be further facilitated. All this, of course, saves on labour, machinery and fuel costs. And this may easily add up to 20 euros per hectare’, Bloemert calculated. More uniform growth, better balance According to Bloemert, all these characteristics also have a positive influence on the development of a crop of seed potatoes. ‘A gradual release of nitrogen ensures uniform crop development, better initiation and regular tuber growth. Subsequently, grading sizes are very uniform, resulting in a maximum number of tubers for the seed potato grower and more kilos in the highest-producing sizes. This was also shown by the trials that were held in Dutch seed potato plots in the past three years. The higher results achieved were between 100 to 1,000 euros per hectare. The differences largely depend on the variety’, Bloemert discovered. For example, the Fontane variety earned a return of 350 euros per hectare in 2011 and the Crisps4all variety actually earned an extra return of 1,087 euros per hectare in 2012. In 2013, the same differences were observed. For example, an Alexia seed-potato lot earned ‘only’ 166 euros more per hectare, and a Spunta lot yielded no less than 908 euros more per hectare. ‘The doses of Agrocote (and those of regular fertilisers) may vary a great deal from 50 to 200 kilograms per hectare. This has nothing to do with the fertiliser, but rather with the variety, growing conditions, preceding crop, type of soil and various other fertilisation factors’, Bloemert explains. ● Leo Hanse Potato World 2014 • number 3 33 Pagina 32
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