Pathogens - it’s all in their DNA

Developed by SARDI (South Australian Research and Development Institute), PREDICTA Pt is a commercial DNA testing service that can identify which pathogens are in the soil or skin of seed tubers.

In Issue 05 of PotatoLink magazine, Ryan Hall and Jenny Ekman from the PotatoLink team report on PREDICTA Pt including a 5-year case study describing its use in monitoring powdery scab and rhizoctonia on a commercial farm.

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Potassium, specific gravity and getting the balance right

Potato plants take up large quantities of potassium with peak daily uptake reaching over 4 kg/ha/day. Supplying potassium is most important during stolon and tuber initiation, although maximum uptake occurs during tuber bulking. This PotatoLink magazine article includes information on supplying potassium to crops and how potassium has helped Canowindra, NSW potatoes.

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Magazine Articles, Carbon Farming Sophia Thach Magazine Articles, Carbon Farming Sophia Thach

Moving towards carbon neutral farming

Growers need to prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead that arise from carbon emission management, particularly whether they can generate carbon credits from their operations. This PotatoLink magazine article discusses this with Adrian James from Natural Resource Management (NRM) who has been tracking the evolution of carbon farming options.

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The difference between regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems

Views differ as to exactly what is meant by regenerative or sustainable agriculture. It may be argued that “sustainable” implies little or no change in the farming environment, whereas “regenerative” is focused on improvement but, in reality, the terms mean much the same. This PotatoLink magazine article discusses ecocentric and technocentric approaches.

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