Plant, UMaine Projects Cited in PPH Blog on Potato Harvest

The latest entry of the Portland Press Herald blog “The Root: Dispatches from Maine’s food sources” cites several University of Maine projects related to Maine’s potato harvest and quotes Andrew Plant, an educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Aroostook County. Plant said The County’s nutrient-rich Caribou soil and climate — warm days and cool nights — offer ideal growing conditions for potatoes. The blog also states UMaine’s Potato Breeding Program is close to releasing seeds for new potato varieties to the public and researchers at the USDA’s New England Plant, Soil and Water Research Lab at UMaine have been evaluating how cover crops, rotation schedules, soil amendments and irrigation affect potato crop production and yield.