December 2024 - 55

VEG CONNECTIONS
Nov. 1 and March 31, referred to here
as " frost hours " .
If a tuber is below 4 inches of
soil, it is unlikely to be exposed to
temperatures below the viability
threshold of 50 frost-hours at or
below 27° F.
Over the last 25 years, there
were several years when the entire
state was at the highest risk value,
meaning that potatoes survived
most winters in the soil during the
2000-2024 period (Fig. 1A). Low
potato volunteer risk seems to
only occur in some years around
the eastern side of the state in the
Thumb, in the northern part of the
lower peninsula and parts of the
Upper Peninsula (Fig. 1B).
There were no years with low
risk in the potato-growing areas of
Montcalm and St. Joseph counties
over the past 25 years. Significant
changes were not seen in risk over
time, with 2014-2015 being the only
consecutive low-risk years during
this time period. Overall, risk is
slightly lower around the Saginaw
Bay area, and the Southwestern
edge of the Upper Peninsula,
and uniformly high in Southern
Michigan.
If the winter is warm enough
to leave all potential volunteer
tubers viable, there are chemical
control methods, but they are not
always reliable, and there is limited
research in focal crops outside of
field corn. Even if the above-ground
portion is killed off, the parent
tuber can produce new growth, and
they often emerge too late to spray
without damaging the crop plant
they are intermixed with. Volunteer
potatoes are an issue in crops grown
in rotation with potatoes, including
corn, winter wheat, soybean, dry
beans, alfalfa, and sugar beet.
Volunteer potatoes are difficult
to control but there is ongoing
herbicide research to explore the
efficacy of available options.
SEEDWAY_VGN_Half Page_Bejo_Dec2023_Layout 1 10/24/2024 11:38 AM Page 1
As our data analysis from the last
25 years indicates, waiting for a
deep freeze to solve the volunteer
potato problem is increasingly
hopeless, and we need to invest
into research to provide new
solutions. Volunteer potatoes not
only cause weed issues in rotational
crops but they harbor pests such
as insects and diseases that can
infect new potato crops. Therefore,
the impact of warming winters is
more complicated and warrants the
need for research that considers
how these changing climate norms
impact potato production.
Abigail Cohen, MSU, cohenab2@
msu.edu. Abigail Cohen is
a Research Associate in the
Department of Entomology, focused
on analyzing and forecasting patterns
in potato pests.
Zsofia Szendrei, MSU, szendrei@
msu.edu. Zsofia Szendrei is the
Vegetable Entomologist at MSU.
BRAGA * 45 Day Parthenocarpic Slicer Cucumber
Parthenocarpic slicer, recommended as an alternative to Lagos. Braga is
an American-style slicer, producing long fruit for use in protected culture
or tunnels lacking pollination. Fruit is dark in color and tends to set heavy
in early picks. IR: Ccu, CMV, CVYV, Pcu, Sf
BRENNAN * 78 Day Green Fresh Market Cabbage
Brennan is widely adapted with excellent quality for boxing. It has a short
core and a dense interior. A strong root system keeps Brennan looking
fancy and uniform when crowded or stressed by too much water,
compared to Bronco with improved Black Rot resistance. HR: Foc / IB: Xc
(800) 952-7333 WWW.SEEDWAY.COM
For More Information Call or Visit Us Online
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December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2024
