The fresh potato crop is emerging in the Red River Valley. “Many of those fresh red and yellow potatoes are just popping up and there’s no row closure yet,” said Andy Robinson, potato agronomist, NDSU Extension. “Right now, there’s a little bit of a lull before farmers start applying fungicides.” However, the potatoes grown for processing were planted a few weeks ahead of the fresh potatoes and they’re getting closer to row closure. Robinson said the hot, drier conditions could become an issue for the more advanced potatoes. “The extreme heat can impact the number of tubers set. We saw that a few years ago when we had hot temperatures in May and June, the numbers of tubers per plant that’s set were reduced,” said Robinson. “It results in larger tubers at harvest with maybe more bruising.”
