How manure improves rate of yield in potatoes

Yutaro Sasaki,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A recent study at a government research farm has found manure and cover crops may help significantly improve potato yields.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientist Judith Nyiraneza says researchers at the Harrington Research Farm incorporated 20 metric tons of manure and applied cover crops to the potato plants. This practice improved the spuds’ yield by 28 per cent.

“Everyone knows the benefit of manure,” Nyiraneza said.

“The only problem we have on the Island is that we need high availability of manure for the potato farmers,” she added.

Nyiraneza says there needs to be more open sources for manure.

As for cover crops, Nyiraneza said they are usually grown by farmers in their off-season to clean and improve their soil health.

She would like to see more Island potato farmers rest and regenerate their soils because the cover crop also has below-ground biomass that improves the soil’s overall health.

The more carbon it returns to the soil, the better.

Ryan Barrett of the P.E.I. Potato Board told SaltWire in a statement on Aug. 1 that farmers have known for decades that adding manure back to soil had both short-term and long-term benefits to crop production.

However, it is often hard for individual farmers to quantify how much benefit manure adds to their soil.

“This is why research such as Nyiraneza’s research is fundamental to provide the industry with reliable, local data on how using a relatively modest amount of solid beef cattle manure can improve yields and soil health.”

Producers already using manure as part of their cropping program should be reassured by the study, Barrett said.

“But for those that aren’t using manure, it may increase interest or demand in either partnering with local livestock producers to access manure or possibly even incentivize some farms to get into the cattle business themselves, if it is the right fit for their operation,” Barrett said.

Yutaro Sasaki,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Guardian