b"Heat Stressed SpudsThe effect of rising temperatures due to climate change on potato production.BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONAS HEADLINES DURING growing seasons repeatedly talk ofair, turning it all into starch. Like every factory, the potato has record temperatures, potatoes are struggling to adapt. Climatebuilding, maintenance, production, and packaging departments.change is pushing temperatures higher, which isnt good newsIf you get heat early in the season, then the construction for spuds. department will keep building while the production and packaging Why is heat a problem? A lot of crops, if you've ever growndepartments arent working causing lots of vines to grow but no corn or any really warm season crop, the hotter it is, the fastertubers to form. If you have delayed tuber initiation, then you push they grow. Potatoes is not one of those, Mike Thornton, aback production in the factory leading to a later harvest and lower professor at the University of Idaho, said during a presentation atyields if frost comes before the tubers can catch up.the Alberta Potato Conference and Tradeshow on Nov. 16, 2022. If the temperatures get too hot during photosynthesis, then Potatoes are native to the high altitudes of the Andes Mountainsthe plant will stop operating as efficiently, Thornton said. in South America where the 25 C days and 12 C nights are theProductivity of the plant starts to go down overall which means perfect conditions for growing spuds. And while a little bit of heatless starch is made and yields fall. doesnt hurt potatoes, continuous heat does, Thornton said. The optimum temperature for growing vines is much higher Potato plants don't like to be stressed by two different thingsthan the optimum temperature for growing tubers, Thornton at the same time. So, if you have nutrient stress and heat stress,said. When you get hot conditions, you basically send a signal to you have pest problems and heat stress, water problems and heatthis plant, keep growing leaves, keep that building department stress, that makes it worse than just heat alone, he added. going, we can go forever they worry less about what they put Thornton pointed to the Columbia Basin as an example.into the packaging department.Temperatures there may soar above 37 C, so they have good soilThe same signal that heat stress sends to a plant to keep for irrigating and managing moisture. This means that while thebuilding leaves is what you get from high nitrogen, he added. potatoes are under heat stress, they arent under moisture stressSo, if you have a moderate upfront nitrogen program and you're so they can still grow.feeding the plants during the season, the plant deals with heat Heat stress by itself is not a death sentence to potatoes. It'sstress better.how you deal with it that determines the outcome, he added. Another way to fight back against heat stress is to have a Heat stress on potatoes also depends on when the heatmoisture bank in your soil, Thornton recommended. Start with happens during the potato growth cycle. Thornton refers togood early season moisture using irrigation so that when the the potato as a starch factory that takes sunlight, water andplants need moisture during the heat later on you falling behind nutrients from the soil and carbon dioxide and oxygen from theif your irrigation system cant keep up. HELPING YOU TAKE CONTROL THROUGH AUTOMATIONwww.ezratek.comT: (204) 331-3000 CRATE FILLERS BIG BAG FILLERS CONVEYORS PALLETIZERS30SPUDSMART.COM Winter 2023"