Volunteer potatoes can impede crop growth and create unwanted shade that will quickly have a detrimental effect on yield.
Volunteer Potatoes
What are volunteer potatoes?
Volunteer potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) can be extremely competitive weeds, especially where present in row crops, such as sugar-beet or spring sown cereal crops.
Plants grow from tubers or tuber pieces left during the harvesting operation and volunteers occur wherever potatoes are grown. Volunteer potatoes are commonly found in the East of England where potato production is concentrated. Volunteer potatoes can be a reservoir of potato pest and disease problems such as PCN, aphids and late blight. However, in non-potato crops they become weeds that outcompete the crop, so affecting both harvesting and yield. It is important to take out these weeds early in the sugar-beet crop.
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Why are volunteer potatoes a problem in sugar beet?
For the first eight weeks of growth, the sugar-beet crop is extremely uncompetitive, so it must fight with weeds with a high biomass, such as volunteer potatoes, to establish and compete for water and nutrients.
Volunteer potatoes can impede crop growth and create unwanted shade that will quickly have a detrimental effect on yield.
Research has shown that as little as 5 potato volunteer plants per square metre can result in yield losses of up to 16.5 t/ha in sugar-beet. In addition, potato volunteers act as an important source of potato blight and a host for potato cyst nematodes.
How do I control volunteer potatoes in sugar beet?
Shield Pro™ is the best option for the control of volunteer potatoes in sugar-beet and it is recommended that growers target plants when they are 5-10cm tall with an application of Shield Pro at 0.25 L/ha, followed by a further application of 0.25 L/ha, 7 – 10 days later.
Other weeds such as Corn Marigold, Groundsel, Pineapple weed, Mayweeds, Black-bindweed, Redshank and Pale Persicaria will also be controlled. If targeting thistles an initial application of Shield Pro at 0.25 L/ha at rosette stage, should be followed by a further application of 0.5 L/ha, 3-4 weeks later.
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Shield Pro controls a range of perennial and annual broad-leaved weeds in a wide range of crops.