Despite significant dissent from some Member States, a recent ‘no opinion’ position in a Brussels Appeal Committee reviewing proposals for the non-renewal of approval for diquat looks set to result in the loss of this important desiccant next year.
"September will be the moment of truth. My growers haven’t harvested yet so we don’t know for sure what the situation will be like. They are now slowly starting to harvest their produce."
This year, an estimated 15 to 40% fewer Finnish potatoes will be harvested. The Finnish Åland islands are one of the regions that will be hard hit in this respect.
This year’s yields of the East German potato fields will be significantly lower than usual. Due to the drought, the local producers are already expecting losses of around one third, said a spokesman for the agricultural cooperative Langenchursdorf
The Austrian table potato market continues to be the same as in previous weeks: precipitation in the last week improved the harvest conditions regionally, but the scarce availability of domestic potatoes does not change that much.
The two critical environmental factors involved in properly storing potatoes and preventing common potato diseases are temperature and humidity.
The scorching weather from the last two months has plagued farmers and especially potato growers across the country, who anticipate production shortages as a result.
Breeding company Solana GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg, will present some new and already successful potato varieties at the Weuthen Potato Day on August 30th.
