New York state seed report 2024

Certified seed potato acres in New York State for 2024 totaled 791 acres inspected. The Lamoka, Snowden and Waneta varieties represented the largest acreages in the state, with 239, 110 and 91 acres inspected, respectively.

This is a shift from what the state has seen in the past, with Lamoka and Waneta dominating the acreage. New York is also seeing an increase of interest in NY-174 and NY-177.

Summer was mostly hot with precipitation extremes. Growers experienced windows of dry weather and rain that slowed planting. June and July were hot, with heat records 4.8o F above normal in Syracuse in July. The heat caused crop losses and increased operational costs (irrigation).

In August, extreme rainfall pummeled portions of northern New York and northern New England. The remnants of hurricane Beryl caused extensive flash flooding. Lowville, New York, saw 6.02 inches of rain in a day, the wettest day since record keeping began in 1891.

September and October have been dry, leading to some questions about tuber size. Overall, the state should see an average crop size for 2024.

The winter test will not be conducted as a winter grow-out in Hawaii this year. Instead, NYSIP has opted once again to have all tubers lab- tested at the Maine Potato Disease Lab.

— Rj Richtmyer III, New York State Improvement and Vegetable Breeding Institute manager