Potato Review

INDUSTRY UPDATES Williamand Alison Skea fromScanStone visited Fairlie Fresh, to nd out how James Fairlie and his father Ian got onwith two new 5Webber destoners after an uninterrupted season. Coming away from 3 machines, Fairlie Fresh has made a saving while achieving the same output. James and Ian, who run a farm at Kirkton of Monikie, said the machines were easy to pull with their two John Deere 6215R tractors, and no boost required. ey worked uphill and downhill and covered area their previous machines couldn’t. e extra 5th drop meant some areas did not need to be bed tilled. e destoner followed the ridges left by their Chateau bed former perfectly, and the intake disks were perfectly placed to pick up all the soil, while missing stones. e wheels of the destoner also tted well into the ridges and prevented the destoner wandering. e atter bed was advantageous in a dry year as it kept in moisture, while o ering an even intake and wear across the width of the destoner. e wider steeper bed left by the chateau ploughs meant the destoner could work less deep and achieve a good amount of soil behind the bed. e soft drive which acted as a shock absorber on the road and reduced strain on the tractor and machine. On a journey to land 60 miles away, the wheel hub temperature remained normal. e bigger 405 R24 wheels tted the rows perfectly. e 8-stud upgraded drawbar with pick-up hook, meant hitching to and from the tractor was e ortless. With the increased steering angle on the new 5 Webber, manoeuvrability was simple. e new control system on the ScanStone is designed, programmed and built in-house. www.scanstone.co.uk NEW SCANSTONE MACHINES PROVE TO BE A COST-SAVING OPTION OMEX Agriculture reports growing interest in it’s blight programme boosting tank-mix partner, Zynergy. e novel combination of micronutrients and formulation know-how helps build the natural defences of potatoes, increasing resistance to blight and potentially reducing total reliance on blight sprays. Zynergy contains a combination of copper, zinc and organic acids and is added to blight spray tank-mixes at the low rate of 0.5 l/ha to boost the nutrient status of the crop, helping increase yields and address issues such as resistance whilst optimising pesticide use, a key facet of Integrated Crop Management. OMEX Agriculture Ltd Tel: 01526 396000 www.omex.com Keeping potato crops stress-free is vital to protect yield and quality potential, and an amino acid based biostimulant could give crops an essential boost over the coming months, according to Interagro. Trials have demonstrated that Bridgeway and Zonda signi cantly increase yields, by o ering relief through improving root health and increasing the rate of photosynthesis – enabling starch production to continue. What’s more, the biostimulants have proven to stimulate root growth, increasing the crop’s access to water and nutrients, crucial during periods of heat, drought, and nutrient stress. www.interagro.co.uk Novel blight spray partner provides disease defence synergy Protect potato potential with Bridgeway/Zonda 46 POTATO REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2020