Potatoes
Potatoes are grown all across NYS, though the largest farms tend to be located in Western NY, the Finger Lakes Region and on Long Island, on deep, fertile, light- to medium-textured mineral soils, and on muck (organic) soils. Potatoes are grown on small, medium and large farms, for retail, wholesale (east of the Mississippi) and organic markets, for both fresh market and processing into chips, and for certified seed potatoes. Most growers store some of their crop for winter sales. Varieties include round whites, red-skinned potatoes, yellows, and a smaller acreage of a wide variety of specialty types, such as those with blue or red skin and flesh, fingerlings, etc. Potatoes are one of the highest value vegetables in NY, grown on about 17,100 acres, with an average value of about $74.4 million recently.Potatoes have many serious insect and disease pests. Late blight can be a devastating disease, capable of completely destroying an unprotected crop within 3 weeks in wet weather, and rotting the tubers. Late blight was the major cause of the Irish Potato Famine. It also affects tomatoes. New, more virulent strains of late blight fungus began showing up 20 years ago and the disease has been harder to predict and control ever since. Early blight is a common fungal disease on both potatoes and tomatoes which survives over-winter in the soil. Colorado potato beetles can cause serious defoliation if crops are not rotated up to a quarter mile from where they, tomatoes or eggplant were previously planted. They can rapidly become resistant to commonly used insecticides. Tiny, sucking leafhoppers move up from the south each June on weather systems, and can cause severe leaf burn and yield reduction. Aphids can also be a production problem as well as carrying viral diseases that can affect potatoes grown from saved seed.
Relevant Events
2026 Cornell Winter Fruit Webinar Series
January 22, 2026 : Blueberry Pruning and Soil Health to Minimize Pests and Maximize Yield
January 29, 2026 : Cost of Production for Fruit Crops
February 12, 2026 : Fire Blight Management Updates
February 19, 2026 : Pink and Petal Fall Insecticides- Can We Strike the Right Balance?
March 12, 2026 : Inoculating Orchards with Mycorrhizal Fungi
March 19, 2026 : St. Peachtrick's Day - Cherry Pruning Strategies and Plum Varieties for the Northeast
2026 Northeast Extension Fruit Consortium Winter Webinar Series
February 4, 2026 : Management of Up and Coming Strawberry Diseases in the Northeastern United States
February 11, 2026 : Kiwiberry Production in the Northeast
February 18, 2026 : Heat Mitigation- Sunburn and Fruit Coloring
February 25, 2026 : The Dating Game- Updates in Lepidopteran Mating Disruption
March 4, 2026 : USEPA Endangered Species Act Strategies and Pesticide Use
March 11, 2026 : Practical Drought Management for Fruit Growers
SPARC WSU Tree Fruit Heat School
March 11, 2026
2026 Onion School
March 12, 2026
Pine Island, NY
Eastern New York Grapevine Pruning Workshops - Kinderhook
March 12, 2026 : Eastern New York Grapevine Pruning Workshop
Kinderhook, NY
Organic Production Guides
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
Organic Production Guides for fruits, vegetables and dairy are available through the NYS Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. They outline general practices for growing vegetable and fruit crops using organic integrated pest management techniques.
2023 Potato Variety Trial
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Know Late Blight Symptoms AND its Look-Alikes
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2022 Potato Variety Trial Report
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Interseeding Summer Cover Crops Between Vegetable Beds, Trial Results
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Managing weeds between vegetable beds remains an on-going issue for vegetable growers, both organic and conventional. It is common practice for vegetable growers to transplant crops into beds covered with black plastic mulch. This strategy provides excellent weed control in the planted row but leaves soil between beds exposed and vulnerable to erosion, compaction, and weed growth. Conventional growers often use herbicides for weed control, but herbicides applied at crop establishment do not provide season long control. Organic growers can mow or use tillage to control weeds, but this can be difficult between beds with plastic mulch and the soil is continuously disturbed decreasing soil health over time. Planting cover crops to protect and improve soil health is not new and the potential benefits of cover crops are well known.
Interseeding Summer Cover Crops Between Vegetable Beds, Trial Results Yr2
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Managing weeds between vegetable beds remains an on-going issue for vegetable growers, both organic and conventional. It is common practice for vegetable growers to transplant crops into beds covered with black plastic mulch. This strategy provides excellent weed control in the planted row but leaves soil between beds exposed and vulnerable to erosion, compaction, and weed growth. Conventional growers often use herbicides for weed control, but herbicides applied at crop establishment do not provide season long control. Organic growers can mow or use tillage to control weeds, but this can be difficult between beds with plastic mulch and the soil is continuously disturbed decreasing soil health over time. Planting cover crops to protect and improve soil health is not new and the potential benefits of cover crops are well known.
2021 Potato Variety Trial
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2020 Potato Variety Trial
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Managing Wireworms in Root Crops
Teresa Rusinek, Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2019 Potato Variety Trial Results
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
2018 CCE ENYCHP Potato Variety Trial Results
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
The CCE ENYCHP evaluated 34 fresh market potato varieties in 2018 for yield, quality and other characteristics. There was a wide range of skin and flesh colors making for a very colorful trial.
Approved Potato Desiccants in NYS
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Insecticides Labeled for Colorado Potato Beetle
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Best Practices for Seed Potato Handling
Chuck Bornt, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
| How you handle your seed potato can impact yield, disease severity, and emergence timing. Get the most out of your potato crop by following these best practices for handling and cutting seed potatoes. |
2017 Potato Variety Trial
2018 Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference Vegetable Presentations
Presentations from the 2018 ENYCHP Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference held February 20th and 21st for the vegetable sections.
Winter Storage Keys to Success - Vegetable Crops
Key topics covered:
- Growing a healthy Crop and keeping it that way in storage
- Storage conditions
- Construction of coolers
- Controls and Thermostats
- Monitoring and more advanced controls
2017 NYS Certified Seed Potato Crop Directory
The 2017 NYS Certified Seed Potato Crop Directory is now available. There is a wealth of information on NYS potato seed certification, as well as on the varieties grown for certification in 2017.
Potato Leaf Hopper Managment
2016 Conventional Potato Variety Trial Results
Anne Mills, Field Technician
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
View this slideshow for user friendly data and photos from the conventional potato variety trial held in Schoharie County, NY.
Control of Colorado Potato Beetle & Insecticide Resistance Management
Carol MacNeil, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
The CPB is known for its ability to quickly develop resistance to insecticides. There are alternatives to insecticides for managing CPB, but for growers with large fields and a limited ability to rotate fields, insecticides remain key.
O-zone Injury on Vegetables
Crystal Stewart-Courtens, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Hot, humid weather with stagnant air masses may lead to ozone damage on crops. Ozone warnings were recently issued for much of New York. These warnings are intended for people with respiratory problems and let them know they should limit their outdoor activity and try to stay as much as possible in air-conditioned locations. These warning are also a good indicator that ozone damage may occur in plants.
Nightshade Management Reduces Crop Loss
Julie Kikkert, Team Leader, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
Depending on the crop, nightshade can reduce crop yields, harbor diseases, and cause crops to be rejected by processors. Learn about the species of nightshades in NY, physiological differences between them, emergence and growth information, and control strategies.
Buckwheat Strips to Attract Beneficial Insects in Potato Production
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
Download a report of field plot strategies for using buckwheat strips to attract beneficial insects for the control of Colorado potato beetle in potato production (2009/2010). This project was funded by the Organic Farming Research Federation.
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Upcoming Events
New Farm Manager Skills Day - Get the Tools You Need to Grow Your People (Hudson Valley)
March 10, 2026 : New Farm Manager Skills Day - Get the Tools You Need to Grow Your People
Millbrook, NY
Are you moving into a supervisory farm management role this season and want to get off to a good start? Are you an experienced manager who wants to connect with other "people" managers and work on your skills? This one-day workshop is for you!
SPARC WSU Tree Fruit Heat School
March 11, 2026
As part of our multi-state SPARC SCRI project on mitigating orchard heat and cold stress, the WSU Tree Fruit Heat School will focus on understanding and managing heat-related challenges in apple and pear production. The program brings together research-based insights and applied discussions on sunburn physiology and mitigation, red color development in apples and pears, and the impacts of heat on postharvest storage and fruit quality. Each session will include an expert presentation, followed by a panel discussion with panelists from across the US.
Urban Ag Food Safety Webinar
March 11, 2026
Urban and small-scale producers are encouraged to join us for the Urban Ag Food Safety webinar, featuring speakers from Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell IPM. We will explore the 'why' behind food safety, providing a basic overview and diving into specific urban ag considerations including water, pest, rodent, and soil health challenges. We will touch on the regulation and marketing landscape, and share resources for learning more. Bring your questions!