Potatos Flashcards
How are they marketed
- sold directly by contract to crisp and freed fry companies
- fresh market in capital cities. Then to businesses
- directly to retail outlets
Primary markets
- French fry industry
- crisp industry
- seed potatoes
- fresh market
Potato growing regions
Dorigo, Hobart, Ballarat, Toowoomba
Cool climates
How it grows
No grown from seed, are propagated asexually from tubers.
When planted tubers produce buds that make there way to surface.
They are then covered by soil in a process called hilling.
Total growing season = 18 weeks
Methods of applying fertiliser
- broadcasting: spread over surface- seed might not access
- in contact with seed- roots can be burned
- in bands 5cm apart in soil- best method
Same family as
Tomato
Eggplant
Potatoes
- originated in South America
- are a flower ?
Pest
Potato moth
- lays eggs which hatch into large and eat tubers
- reduces yield and leafs
- controlled by irrigation, hilling and insecticides
Disease
Potato leaf roll virus
- makes leaves shrivel up and look like need water
- yield is reduced because leaves cannot function properly to proved food to be stored as starch in potatoes
- prevention includes planting certified disease free seeds
- control includes stopping the spread of the disease by controlling aphids
Nutrients needed
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- potassium
Issues in industry
- sustainability
- pest and diseases
- market competition - lowest prices - buyers eg woollies
Planting
Depth of 10-15 cm, 20-30 apart
Azul
Where leaf joins stem
Eye
A bud of a tuber
Tuber
A swollen underground stem where the potato stores starch
Set
Another word for seed potato
Stolen
An underground stem
Major issues
- potato moth
- potato leaf roll virus
- weeds