Sharma interviewed by WAGM about Aroostook County Field Day

WAGM (Channel 8 in Presque Isle) interviewed Lakesh Sharma, a soil specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for a segment of The County Ag Report about Aroostook Farm Field Day. Aroostook Farm has hosted the field day annually since 2015 to give researchers and farm workers a chance to share insights about the past year. This year’s event had a turnout of between 70 and 80, WAGM reported. Sharma noted that applying phosphorus to the already phosphorus-rich soil in Aroostook County does not make a difference in potato yield, and that a lot of research is being done with different varieties. “We start with the crossing in the greenhouse. You get two with the qualities that you desire, and then you try to pollinate them, cross them, and work your way from there,” said Sharma. “It takes a long time to come to a new variety like Caribou Russet. You can go from eight to 10 years before you can come up with that.”