b'topsoil with sands and calcium car- theyearandgoto bonate under them. Water tends tootherareasfor have high salt concentrations beingwhen its too cold to close to the ocean. An evening tourgrow potatoes. This ofBalnavesvineyardswasagoodenablesthemto social gathering to learn more aboutprovideacontinu-thesoilsandhowtheyhelpvine- oussupplyoffresh yards grow. potatoeswithlittle storage needs. Manykilometersweredriventhe third day as the group travelled to aThenextdaythe seed potato farm in the desert andtour,wewereable met up with several Australian pota- to visit two farms ofThe group went to a grocery store to check out the pota-togrowerswhojoinedthetour.Mitolo.Welookedtoes.Muster seed potatoes farm is a high- atanddiscussedsheds are the same. It was fun to see quality operation and they fit intofreshpotatoproductionintheanotherprepackingshedandhow theannualpotatoproductionsandydesertandthedifficultiesthey handled potatoes using wood-scheme by proving seed potatoes attheyfaced.Theyhavehighspeeden boxes. There were some similari-adifferenttimethanotherseedpivotssointhisclimatetheycantiesintheequipmentusedwhen farms. Their challenge is producingprovide a cooling lap on hot days. comparing the US packing shed, but seedinahotenvironmentandalsosomedifferencesandgood keeping seed size small. Because water has a high heat hold- learningopportunities.Thefinal ing capacity it is used to keep soilstourstopwasattheSouth Many growers in the hot conditionscooler.TheyfocusmanyoftheirAustralianResearchandDevelop-will plant whole seed because howefforts on variety development. WementInstitutetolearnabout fast bacterial rot can occur in cut orwere able to see crops almost readyPredicta Point. This is a way growers damaged seed. The next stop was toto harvest and seed ready to plant incan test their soils for about 17 dif-have a farm tour at Zerella farms tothesameday.OnionsarealsoferentdiseasesandpestsforAUD seedoneofthebiggestandmostimportantinthisregion,andwe$180.Itcanbeespeciallyhelpful modern packing sheds in the south- were able to learn about onion pro- before renting or buying ground to ern hemisphere. Investing in tech- duction. knowwhatpeststobeconcerned nology to improve efficiencies andabout. Or it could be used to test the qualityareimportantinAustralia.In the afternoon we had the oppor- effect of fumigation.Theconsumerdemandforfreshtunitytoseesomecitrusfarms. potatoesishigherthanwhatweTrees take more water than potatoesIt was an excellent tour that provid-find in the United States. to grow, and with limited water sup- edmanylearningopportunities.A plies water is always a topic of dis- favorite stop was at grocery stores to While at Zerella we were able to seecussion. seethepackagingofpotatoesand potato planting, carrot harvest, andchips. Australian grocery stores pro-onion harvest. We were not able toOn the last day of the tour, we drovemotefarmersandtheirproduce see potato harvest because the day- to a packing shed near Adelaide towell. All the tour participants were timetemperaturewastoohot.learn about the equipment used inpleased with the tour and what they Many farms in this area will plantthis packing facility. Australia is likewere able to see and learn. and harvest for nearly 10 months oftheUnitedStates,notwopacking 14 POTATO GROWER MARCH 2023'