14 Aug Agronomy Update – Aug 14

Posted at 15:53h in Recent News by

Hi everyone. Sorry I’m a day later sending out this update, but I had some last-minute field work to attend to yesterday and was also waiting for some data to share.

Rainfall totals have been very spotty for the last week. Some communities have gotten significant rainfall, others have received very little.  Here some selected 7-day rainfall totals from across the province:

 

Location mm in last 7 days Location mm in last 7 days
Alma 16.6 Harrington 0.6
Tyne Valley 7.6 Alberry Plains 0.4
Kensington 14.4 Mount Hope 6.4
Baltic Lot 18 6.2 Souris 17.6
Tryon 3.6 East Baltic Road 38.0

 

I notice that some fields are starting to show signs of moisture stress this week, mostly in Queens County. More rain is needed soon to keep plants green and healthy through tuber bulking. Those with irrigation are keeping a steady schedule.

Generally, the crop looks pretty healthy, without a lot of foliar disease issues being reported. We seem to be past the peak of CPB numbers in most communities, without many reports of fields with out-of-control beetles. Aphid numbers have been trending lower the last 3 weeks, and spore counts are also trending downward across the province.

 

Air Spore:

 

  Early Blight Brown Spot Grey Mold Fusarium Stem Rot
(A. solani) (A. alternata) (Bortrytis cinerea) (Fusarium spp.)
Region Mon, Aug 10 Wed, Aug 12 Mon, Aug 10 Wed, Aug 12 Mon, Aug 10 Wed, Aug 12 Mon, Aug 10 Wed, Aug 12
West Prince 23 10 2 20 5 11 1 0
East Prince 160 0 2 0 21 4 19 0
Queens 467 31 9 0 124 9 76 0
Kings 0 12 0 3 14 15 0 0

 

  • No late blight has been reported in PEI or NB all season.
  • There continue to be late blight spores detected with a different spore testing method in Maine, but I have not received reports of foliar late blight.  We will watch as we move into slightly cooler temperatures (especially at night) if that changes.
  • Early blight spore numbers decreased significantly in Central PEI on Wednesday compared with Monday.
  • Grey mold spore counts remain generally low. Fusarium spore counts went to zero across the province on Wednesday.

 

Aphid Alert:

 

Week Ending Region # of Samples Green Peach Potato Buckthorn Foxglove Bird Cherry-Oat Other Tarnished
Plant Bug		 Total Aphids Average Aphids
per Sample
15-Aug-26 WEST PRINCE 15 0 3 8 0 2 8 3 21 1.40
EAST PRINCE 11 0 0 6 0 0 66 9 72 6.55
QUEENS 14 0 14 9 0 0 21 1 44 3.14
KINGS 3 0 2 4 0 0 6 0 12 4.00
Total 43 0 19 27 0 2 101 13 149 3.47
Week Ending Region # of Samples Green Peach Potato Buckthorn Foxglove Bird Cherry-Oat Other Tarnished
Plant Bug		 Total Aphids Average Aphids
per Sample
08-Aug-26 WEST PRINCE 30 0 8 12 0 0 33 2 53 1.77
EAST PRINCE 20 0 8 9 0 2 38 7 57 2.85
QUEENS 19 0 1 12 0 2 15 1 30 1.58
KINGS 5 0 0 1 0 0 80 0 81 16.20
Total 74 0 17 34 0 4 166 10 221 2.99

 

  • Aphid numbers continue to be at a much lower level than earlier in the season.
  • No green peach aphids have been detected recently. Most trapped aphids are in the Other category

 

AIM BBQs – August 25-27

All potato growers and AIM partners are welcome to attend the AIM Summer BBQs on August 25-27th!

Each event will start at 3 pm and will feature a short overview of some AIM and Living Lab trials with growers this year, as well as some short presentations by research and industry partners.  Topics will include nitrogen management, rotational grazing ahead of potatoes, drone spraying for Colorado potato beetles, and more!

Dates and Locations:

Tuesday, August 25:  Sweet Farms, 267 Smallman Road, Knutsford
Wednesday, August 26:  Bridgeview Acres, 759 Murray Road, Borden-Carleton
Thursday, August 27:  Spud Isle Farms, 131 Red Head Road, Morell

We look forward to seeing you later this month!