Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 16 POTATO GROWER utilizing oils, vine-killing and a couple of other tactics. We have several other projects, includ- ing examining foliar applications to control Colorado potato beetle (we call them CPB for short). We’ve been look- ing at this for the past couple of seasons with various treatments and we’ll now be incorporating some different scout- ing techniques and thresholds. Which leads us to another interesting ongoing project. Over the past year we’ve been operating a remote sensing of insects project under a Minnesota Department of Agriculture Cropping Systems grant. One part of that research has been using drone-mounted cameras to assess defoli- ation by CPB. It’s been very successful and we’ll likely be publishing our results next winter. We’re going to continue flying and gathering another season’s data in potatoes to validate our esti- mates). This work will tie in well with foliar management of CPB where esti- mates have to be both fast and accurate! I’ll be discussing that at the Becker Field Plot Tours on July 19th. We’re collaborating with Dr. Asunta (Susie) Thompson at NDSU on some other remote sensing efforts. Funded by State Specialty Crop Block grants, these projects assess the potential of remotely sensing PVY infected plants. This would be of great benefit managing PVY and in breeding for PVY resistance, gave us a great opportunity to collaborate on the research efforts. So far we’ve been using ground-based equipment to identify wavelengths of reflected light that is associated with PVY infection. We have had some luck with this over the past year, but there are some potential issues that still need to be ironed out before this one is ready to leave the ground! So if you see some of our crew out in the Grand Forks plots with what looks something like a shepherd’s crook, we’re not trying to round up stray sheep, but get data from the crop canopy. There will some organic potato produc- tion plots at the UMN-NWROC in Crookston this year, at least for insect control. There’s growing interest in commercial production of organic pota- toes and in an effort to see how well we can control the various insect pests that might cause some problems, we’ll be examining some promising organic products. I’ll probably be talking about that a bit at the NWROC field day on July 20th (July’s always a busy month!) Finally, we’ll be examining pollinator populations in pollinator habitat plant- ings adjacent to irrigation pivots in cen- tral Minnesota. The R.D. Offutt Company, in cooperation with Operation Pollinator, an international effort to boost pollinator numbers on commercial farms (www.operationpolli- nator.com/) have planted over 500 acres of pollinator habitat. These sites pro- vide an ideal opportunity to examine the interaction of pollinators, potatoes and surrounding landscapes. This year we’ll be gathering some preliminary data and hopefully using it to seek some additional federal or state funding. All- in-all, I think the field team’s going to be very busy this year. NDSU/UMN Potato Exten- sion Agronomist Dr. Andy Robinson, NDSU/UMN The Extension agronomy team, includ- ing Eric Brandvik and Alan Bingham, has several trials throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. Trials are located at Becker, Minnesota at the Sand Plains Research Farm and in grower cooperator fields, Oakes, North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Inkster, North Dakota, and in a grower cooperator field at Crystal, North Dakota. Becker, Minnesota A variety trial in a grower cooperator field has 21 red-skinned and 10 yellow- skinned cultivars. As part of a Minnesota Specialty Crop Block grant and in con- junction with Dr. Gary Secor and his group we will evaluate this for yield, blemishes, and quality. In addition to this blemish grant, at the Sand Plain Research Farm we are studying the effects of 2,4-D, NAA and ethephon on scab control and blemishes. At the Sand Plains Research farm we are investigat- ing some herbicides treatments that include Sonalan mixed with other chemistries as a preemergence weed control option. Oakes, North Dakota A similar study to Dr. Carl Rosen’s to evaluate the effects of Aspire on potato production has been established. On a dicamba and glyphosate drift project we are working with Dr. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti to determine the effects of these herbicides on potato pro- duction and effects of herbicides in seed. This project is being conducted at Oakes and Inkster and is supported by a North Dakota Specialty Crop Block Grant. Grand Forks, North Dakota Studies are determining the effect of 2,4- D, NAA, and ethephon on scab control and yield as part of the blemish work. This work has been funded by a North Dakota Specialty Crop Block grant. We are conducting a rotational study with spring wheat, dry bean and canola to determine the effects of crop rotation on potato yield and quality. This work is supported by the NPPGA and canola