Commercial Potato Production in North America The Potato Association of America Handbook Second Revision of American Potato Journal Supplement Volume 57 and USDA Handbook 267 by the Extension Section of The Potato Association of America Commercial Potato Production in North America Editors William H. Bohl, University of Idaho Steven B. Johnson, University of Maine Contributing Authors to the 2010 Revision Stephen Belyea Maine Dept. of Agric., Food & Rural Resources Chuck Brown USDA-ARS, Washington Alvin Bushway University of Maine Alvin Bussan University of Wisconsin-Madison Rob Davidson Colorado State University Joe Guenthner University of Idaho Bryan Hopkins Brigham Young University Pamela J. S. Hutchinson University of Idaho Steven B. Johnson University of Maine Gale Kleinkopf University of Idaho, Retired Jeff Miller Miller Research (formerly University of Idaho) Nora Olsen University of Idaho Paul Patterson University of Idaho Mark Pavek Washington State University Duane Preston University of Minnesota, Retired Edward Radcliffe University of Minnesota, Retired Carl Rosen University of Minnesota Peter Sexton South Dakota State University Clinton Shock Oregon State University Joseph Sieczka Cornell University, Retired David Spooner USDA-ARS, Wisconsin Jeffrey Stark University of Idaho Walt Stevenson University of Wisconsin, Retired Asunta Thompson North Dakota State University Mike Thornton University of Idaho Robert Thornton Washington State University, Retired October 26, 2010 Commercial Potato Production in North America A Brief History of this Handbook and Use of the Information The current publication, Commercial Potato Production in North America was originally published in July 1964 by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 267, with the title, Commercial Potato Production, authored by August E. Kehr, Robert V. Akeley and Geoffrey V. C. Houghland. It was for sale from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office for 60 cents. The handbook was out of print in the late 1970's. The Extension Committee of The Potato Association of America (PAA) identified the need for the publication and for some revision. The USDA did not have plans to revise and reprint it and gave permission to The Potato Association of America to do so. During the mid 1970’s, Robert Thornton, Washington State University (retired), oversaw the editing and rewriting by North American potato specialists of the original publication for a revised handbook. In 1979, while on sabbatical leave at WSU, Joseph Sieczka, Cornell University (retired) assisted in the editing of the sections in the handbook so they had similar format. The first revision of Commercial Potato Production originally published by USDA was completed by The PAA and published in 1980 with Robert E. Thornton and Joseph B. Sieczka as co-editors. There were 16 authors including the two editors of the 1980 version of the publication that was titled, Commercial Potato Production in North America. The handbook was published as a supplement to the American Potato Journal (now American Journal of Potato Research) of The PAA. The 1980 revision was quickly and widely accepted and was out of print by the end of that decade. By that time there were many changes in potato production and marketing so some sections of the publication needed significant changes and new sections needed to be added. Sieczka and Thornton agreed to again coordinate and edit the next version. In addition to the original authors of the previous two versions, eight more individuals contributed to the 1992 version (Commercial Potato Production in North America, Potato Association of America Handbook, Revision of American Potato Journal Supplement, Volume 57 and USDA Handbook 267 by the Extension Section of The Potato Association of America). Editors of the 1992 revision were listed as Joseph B. Sieczka, Cornell University, and Robert E. Thornton, Washington State University. As with the previous versions of this handbook, changes in the potato industry lead to a need to revise the handbook for a third time beginning in the mid 2000’s. In the current version of Commercial Potato Production in North America, some sections were extensively revised while some of the basic sections changed little. The current version has 26 authors who revised, rewrote or added sections. The task of editing and coordinating the handbook revision was initially undertaken by William H. Bohl, University of Idaho, Steven B. Johnson, University of Maine, and Alvin Mosley, Oregon State University. The current version is an on-line only publication with Internet links. The editors of this and previous revisions acknowledge the efforts of individuals who contributed to the original USDA Handbook 267 and the following revisions. The information in this handbook is not copyrighted because much of it is from public sources. However, users are asked to not reprint the material in other forms without citing from where the information was obtained. Contents INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………….… 1 History …………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………... 2 Botany of the Potato …………………………………………………………………………….……………… 4 Morphology and Anatomy ………………………………………………………………….…………………5 Plant Introduction and Maintenance ………………………………………………….………………… 7 Potato Consumption …………………………………………………………………….……………………… 7 The Potato as Food …………………………………………………………………….………………………… 9 MARKETING AND ECONOMICS …………………………………………………………….………………………… 13 Production by Region and Season ………………………………………….…………………………… 13 Utilization …………………………………………………………………………….……………………………..15 Processing Markets ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 17 Fresh Potato Markets ………………………………………………………………………………………… 18 Seed Potato Markets ………………………………………………….………………………………………. 18 Cost of Production ……………………………………………………………………………………………... 19 Cost of Storage …………………………………………………………….………………………..………….. 20 POTATO CULTIVARS ……………………………………………………………………………………………….……….24 Cultivar Identification …………………………………………………………………………….…………… 24 North American Cultivars from which to Choose ……………………………………………….. 28 GROWTH REQUIREMENTS OF THE POTATO …………………………………………………………………... 32 Soil Requirements ………………………………………………………………………………….…………… 32 Temperature and Moisture …………………………………………………………………….…………..33 Rotations …………………………………………………………………………………………….……………… 34 Soil Preparation ………………………………………………………………………………….……………….35 Building Up Soil Organic Matter Content ………………………………………….………………… 36 Liming …………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….. 37 SELECTING, STORING, PREPARING AND PLANTING SEED …………………………………………….…. 38 Seed Potato Certification ……………………………………………………………………….…………… 38 Maximizing Potato Seed Performance ………………………………………………….……………. 44 Planting the Crop ………………………………………………………………………………….……………. 48 GROWING THE CROP …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 53 Cultivation ………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….53 Water Requirements and Irrigation ………………………………………….………………………… 54 Potato Nutrition ……………………………………………………………………….………………………… 57 Weed Control …………………………………………………………………………….………………………. 62 Insect Control ………………………………………………………………………….…………………………. 64 Disease Control …………………………………………………………………….……………………………. 67 Production Management ……………………………………………………….………………………….. 72 Physiological Disorders ………………………………………………………………………………….…… 73 HARVESTING THE CROP …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 Vine Killing …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 Harvesting Equipment ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 77 Potato Bruising ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 77 At the Storage ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………… 80 STORAGE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………. 80 Physiological and Biochemical Changes in Storage ………………………………………….…. 82 Ventilation and Humidity Control …………………………………………………………………….… 82 Sprout Control in Storage ………………………………………………………………………….……….. 85 Commercial Potato Production in North America INTRODUCTION (Joe Guenthner) Commercial potato production is a complex, specialized commercial enterprise that requires a high degree of technical skill and practical experience on the part of the producer. With the trend towards increased processing use of potatoes, growers have oriented their production practices to the type of market in which they expect to sell. These processing operations that manufacture chips, frozen, and dehydrated products provide important, large outlets, which have reversed the declining per capita consumption of potatoes in the United States. The continued application of farming technology has resulted in growers producing more potatoes on fewer acres. In the 1930s, 3 to 3.5 million acres (1.2 to 1.4 million ha) of potatoes were harvested in the United States. In 1985, production was nearly double the 1930 production on less than half the acres. By 2005, U.S. potato acreage declined to 1.08 million acres, less than one-third the acreage in 1930 (Table 1). More information on yield and production for other years or for individual states can be found at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1123 The average U.S. yield of potatoes has steadily increased, and with shifts westward to the high- yielding, irrigated fields of the Pacific Northwest, the national average yield reached 290 cwt per acre (32.5 t/ha) in 1990. Fifteen years later, average yield had increased by another one-third to 390 cwt per acre (43.7 t/ha). Increased yields have resulted not only from shifts in geographical areas of production but also due to increased grower