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
ENY Orchard Soil Health and Beneficial Fungi Meeting
August 15, 2024 : ENY Orchard Soil Health and Beneficial Fungi Meeting
Peru, NY
Late Summer Orchard Meeting
August 21, 2024
Fonda, NY
Drinkwine Produce Twilight Meeting
September 16, 2024 : Drinkwine Produce Twilight Meeting
Ticonderoga, NY
Korona Produce Field Meeting
September 25, 2024 : Korona Produce Field Meeting
Amsterdam, NY
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.
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.
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
ENY Orchard Soil Health and Beneficial Fungi Meeting
August 15, 2024 : ENY Orchard Soil Health and Beneficial Fungi Meeting
Peru, NY
Join the members of CCE ENYCHP and the Cornell Soil Health Program for a field meeting on the basics of soil health, the potential benefits of mycorrhizal fungi, and an update on the current project status of our SARE grant on orchard mycorrhizal products.
This meeting is intended for farmworkers, young and beginning orchardists, and experienced orchard managers wanting to learn about the basics of soil health and mycorrhizal fungi within the orchard.
North Point Community Farm Twilight Meeting
August 19, 2024 : North Point Community Farm Twilight Meeting
Plattsburgh, NY
North Point Community Farm Twilight Meeting
Monday, August 19th 4-7 pm (rain or shine)
2172 Military Turnpike, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
$10 per farm
Join us for a tour of North Point Community Farm, a diversified vegetable, berry, and flower operation in the North Country. Farmers Marisa and Mike will give us an overview of their decision-making as they expand their business, increasing their high tunnel production, investing in new tillage equipment, and transforming an old dairy barn into an efficient wash-pack shed with food safety in mind. We'll end the evening with local food refreshments and an opportunity to network with growers from NY and VT.
DEC credits: 1.5 credits in categories 1A, 10, 23
Late Summer Orchard Meeting
August 21, 2024
Fonda, NY
Join us for our last get together of the summer before we're in the thick of harvest. At this meeting, we will tour Sand Flats Orchard with manager Mitch Hoffman, and we will then discuss late season pest management tasks with our experts from the HVRL and Cornell AgriTech.
DEC Credits: 1.5 credits in categories 1A, 10, and 22.