SEPTEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


13 Potato trials reflect change in consumer tastes by DAVID SCHMIDT


DELTA – The 2018 potato crop is shaping up to be one of the best ever in both quality and yield, says BC Fresh president and CEO Murray Driediger. “The dry weather for those


growers who have irrigation has allowed us to control growing conditions,” Driediger said during the annual BC potato variety trials field day at Rod Swenson Farms on Westham Island, August 23. Farm manager Cory Gerrard


concurred, saying the initial harvest is promising. He also seconded Driediger’s comments about irrigation, noting his farm is “probably doing more irrigation than in the past.” “We learned a lot from last year,”


says BC Potato & Vegetable Growers Association president Bill Zylmans. “We started late because of the spring rains but because we had a lot of sun and irrigation we’re back to normal. We recognize climate change is part of us. The people who have irrigation are showing its importance.” He also says early indications are positive but asks


“what will September do? I can’t let 2010 out of my mind.”


That year, torrential rains flooded Delta potato


fields, completely destroying the potato harvest and resulting in a disaster being declared. Making her first visit to the trial was BC Minister of


Agriculture Lana Popham. She was joined by South Delta MLA and Liberal agriculture critic Ian Paton. Popham stressed the importance of conducting variety trials and working together as government


These are no small potatoes! BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham, left, BCPVGA president Bill Zylmans and Heather Meberg of ES Cropconsult pose during the annual BC Potato Variety Trial field day at Rod Swenson Farms on Westham Island, August 23. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


and industry to meet consumer concerns about agriculture. “Consumers have their eyes on local agriculture.


They’re demanding things they’ve never demanded before.” There were 88 varieties in the demonstration


plots. Of those, 55 are in replicated trials, allowing co-ordinator Heather Meberg of ES Cropconsult to compare yield, growth and disease resistance characteristics of the varieties. She will report her findings during the potato sessions at the Pacific Agriculture Show in January.


Zylmans says the trials have


brought BC growers to “the cutting edge.” “Even I, as a long-time potato


grower, only recognize a few of the varieties in the trial,” he says, noting that past trials have helped growers embrace new varieties and move away from older ones. “The market has changed over


the years,” Driediger adds. While Russet potatoes used to represent about 65% of the BC potato crop, that has fallen to about 50%. “The trend is towards more European varieties, smaller potatoes and good quality red, white and yellow potatoes.” That shift is most evident at Rod


Swenson Farms, which has only about 40 acres of Russets among the 420 acres of potatoes it is growing. Over half its acreage is devoted to red, yellow and white potatoes. The demonstration plots were planted within a large field of Actrice potatoes, a yellow variety Gerrard started growing three years ago. He says it replaced Yukon Gold


in their fields since “it looks nicer, has a higher yield potential and does well in our hard soils.” Zylmans says BC was the first potato producing


area to conduct trials within a commercial field, something other trials are now copying. “Our trials get no babysitting or special treatment


so growers can really see how they perform under commercial conditions.” This year, that meant the potatoes received a 1,000 pound/acre dose of fertilizer at planting and were irrigated five times. They also received the same sprays as the rest of the field.


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