May/June 2020

Britt Raybould broke new ground in two ways for the National Potato Council this year. In January, Raybould was elected as president of the NPC’s executive committee, making her the first female ... more »

From a scientific perspective, the potato is a pretty cool crop to work with. Cultivated potato and its wild relatives contain a lot of diversity — both above and below the ground. When growing pota... more »

Huron Chipper (MSW485-2) is a new chip-processing variety developed by Michigan State University. Parentage: MSQ070-1 x MSR156-7 Developers: Michigan State University and the MSU AgBioResearch (... more »

(UPDATE: USDA announces $19 billion coronavirus relief package for food industry, including $2.1 billion for specialty crops) Stories from two potato farmers in Idaho symbolize the havoc created by... more »

Potatoes can be a tough crop to grow. Seed tubers are bulky, perishable and quickly degenerate when pressured by disease. Furthermore, improvement of existing varieties has been slow. Traditional b... more »

Spudman recently surveyed readers on potato rotations, why they choose the varieties they grow, cover crops and challenges they face in balancing longer rotations with production needs. RELATED: ... more »

Since mid-March when Americans were encouraged to stay home to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Idaho potato industry has been upended. From unprecedented demand at retail, to a cl... more »

Powdery scab, caused by Spongospora subterranea, is a worrisome disease for potato growers around the world for a variety of reasons. Powdery scab can stay present in soil for a long period of ti... more »

At its core, Mark Pavek describes his professional focus as “finding the smartest and most profitable agronomic practices and varieties for (Pacific) Northwest growers.” Pavek is a Research and Ex... more »

Back when the potato was still seen as a novelty by most of the world, Andean people were way ahead of the curve in their intimate knowledge of the crop’s wild relatives. In fact, their affinity for... more »