On the farm

Mid October and it is time to put a crop of winter wheat behind potatoes at Kinblethmont. The field in question was only about 50% potatoes, due to a build up over the years of Pallida PCN (Potato Cyst Nematodes). These can be very long lived and so, the parts of the field found to be contaminated not only were not planted with potatoes, but a radish with fumigation properties was instead grown. This would hopefully result in about a 30% reduction in PCN.

The fields are sampled before potato planting to assess the pH and its variation. This is the furthest point in the rotation from applied lime. Free lime in the soil can reduce the quality of the skin finish on potatoes. The field had fallen to a pretty low ph. A variable rate of lime could at this point be applied, but with the lime demand being so high we decided to split the application. The first application being almost flat rate (map from Catriona) was applied last week straight on top of the uncultivated land after potatoes and the recently cut and mulched radish crop.

The field is now being ploughed and we will either plant the wheat immediately or apply the remaining lime first. This decision will be down to soil conditions, weather windows and availability of a lime spreader. If we do not apply the lime now, it will have to be applied before the following crop is drilled.

Meanwhile SoilEssentials are using some of Kinblethmont’s fields to test our new PCN sampling service where we will be looking at our PCN infestation in much more detail than we have previously done. The sampling grid is based on the direction of potato planting and the sprayer width. The aim is to have detailed advanced warning of PCN issues and so use tools such as our radish crop and rotation to manage this issue with greater sustainability and profitability.