•
POTATO SCIENCE LIVE
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
MARCH 2017
A
A
presentation by Philip
Ecclestone – area
manager for British
Sugar – advocating applying
LimeX pre-planting to reduce
scab, may herald a sea change
in attitudes to crop nutrition.
He explained that the
commonly held view among
agronomists and growers is that
lime should not be applied
before a potato crop, as it
promotes common scab – an
unsightly skin blemish disease.
However, his presentation –
investigating the efficiency of
LimeX in reducing common scab
- featured research dispelling
what Mr Ecclestone referred to
as “this commonly heldmyth.”
A by-product of sugar beet
processing, LimeX is derived
from Derbyshire limestone. With
its fine composition, this easily
spreadable, high-quality liming
material is ideal for the
correction of soil acidity and
general conditioning. As well as
calcium, it contains high levels
of other useful plant nutrients
including phosphate,
magnesium and sulphur.
Highly economical, LimeX is
already widely used crops
sensitive to low pH, such as
sugar beet, and can offer
benefits to the whole rotation in
the suppression of diseases such
as club root in brassicas, take-all
in secondwheat, and cavity
spot in carrots.
With data gathered from field
research conducted between
2012 -15 in conjunctionwith
Crop Intellect, operating from
the University of Lincoln, Mr
Ecclestonemade a case for
applying lime before a potato
crop to helpminimise common
scab in certain situations.
A summary of the data from
12 replicated trials withMaris
Piper on a range of soil types
showed themost consistent
results were achieved by
applying LimeX pre-planting at
7.5t/ha. While yield did not
significantly increase,
marketable yield improved by
over 6t/ha ie over 10% -
representing a significant
increase in net margin. Having
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WHAT’S NEW IN POTATOES?
New thinking regarding the role of LimeX in reducing
common scab, the control of late blight strains, and new
CIPC regulations for potato stores were among the topics
highlighted at the Syngenta Potato Science Live 2017
event, held at Grimme’s impressive new training facilities
at Swineshead, Lincolnshire, writes
Sue Jupe
.
Philip Ecclestone of British Sugar advocates applying LimeX before planting
potato crops in certain situations, to reduce scab.
