Spudman November/December 2022 - 19

CALIFORNIA
California has four major commercial
potato production regions. The
Klamath/Tulelake Basin in Siskiyou
and Modoc counties is mostly for
fresh, processing and seed potatoes;
Kern and Los Angeles counties are
mostly for fresh, chipping and seed
potatoes; the Delta Basin in San
Joaquin County is mostly for seed
potatoes and the desert and valleys
of Imperial, Riverside and San Diego
counties are for fresh potatoes. The
California potato seed certification
program is comparatively small
compared to other programs in
the U.S. Certified seed potatoes are
produced mainly in the Arvin area
about 15 miles south to southeast of
Bakersfield at about 450 ft. above sea
level, and on the McDonald Island and
the Terminus area of the Delta region
of the San Joaquin Valley at about
26 ft. above sea level. The seed potatoes
produced annually in the Tulelake
area close to the Oregon border, about
4,000 ft. above sea level, are inspected
and certified by the Oregon Seed
Certification Service under mutual
agreement between our agencies.
Field planting began Dec. 20, 2021,
in about 64° F maximum temperature
weather in the Central Valley and
ended Feb. 16, 2022, whereas it began
May 12, 2022, in about 80° F maximum
temperature weather in the San Joaquin
Valley and ended June 28, 2022.
The Central Valley crop is sometimes
hit by frost, but it was spared this
year. There were no significant
rainfall events during the production
season, so fields were fully irrigated
as usual. The Mediterranean weather
conditions that prevailed across the
state were not conducive for disease
development, so high quality crops
were produced. Field inspections
started March 31, 2022, in the Central
Valley and on May 5, 2022, in the
San Joaquin Valley. The last field
inspections were completed in San
Joaquin Valley on Aug. 31, 2022.
California's total production of
commercial potatoes was roughly
30,000-40,000 acres in 2022. The
average annual production of certified
seed potatoes in California has been on
about 790 acres for the past five years.
However, in 2022, there was a reduction
from that average down to 682 acres. On
these acres, we had a total of 40 varieties
in the Certification Program. One of
our major growers decided to stop their
potato seed exports due to the shipping
bottlenecks that they experienced
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart
from proprietary varieties, the varieties
with the most acres were Ciklamen,
Sifra, Purple Iris, Gala, and Alegria, in
that order.
- Alexander B. Mkandawire, potato
seed certification manager, California
Crop Improvement Association
certified seed in Colorado, whether it is
sold commercially or for recertification.
In 2022, Colorado certified seed potato
acreage for sale and grower plant-back
was up from 7,784 acres in 2021 to
8,151 acres in 2022. The 2022 accepted
certified acreage after summer field
inspections was 7,784 acres. Over 120
different potato varieties were entered
into Colorado's certified seed program
this year. Rejections were primarily
the result of blackleg and PVY/mosaic.
Total potato acreage (both certified and
commercial) in the San Luis Valley was
49,804, up from 48,265 acres in 2021.
The 2022 top six certified potato
varieties in Colorado are:
1. Russet Norkotah selections,
2,502 acres
2. Canela Russet, 727 acres
3. Reveille Russet, 514 acres
4. Soraya, 413 acres
5. Teton Russet, 265 acres
6. Centennial Russet, 222 acres
Of note, Reveille Russet and Soraya
have been gaining some popularity
in Colorado seed production. A wide
range of potato varieties are certified in
Colorado, including multiple varieties
of russets, reds, yellows, chippers,
fingerlings, and specialties.
All seed imported into Colorado is
COLORADO
All field grown seed potatoes in
Colorado are produced in the San
Luis Valley - a high elevation desert
in South Central Colorado. It was a
very dry spring, but seed crop planting
went well. All seed production is
dependent on irrigation, mostly from
groundwater. Even though spring was
dry, there were several rain events
throughout the summer. Certified
seed growers began killing vines in
late July and continued through earlyto
mid-August, limiting potential
virus spread by late season aphid
flights. As of Oct. 14, all certified seed
potato acreage has been harvested in
Colorado. Overall, crop yields hover
around average. Certified seed growers
submitted all of their seed samples
for the Post Harvest Test by Oct. 14.
Our Post Harvest Test will be taking
place in Oahu, Hawaii, again this year.
A postharvest test is required on all
required to undergo a Post Harvest
Test, and a PVYN tolerance of 1.0% is
in place for all incoming seed. Also,
there is a late blight quarantine in effect
for all seed coming into the San Luis
Valley. If you are planning on shipping
any seed into the valley, a late blight test
needs to be conducted by a qualified lab
prior to shipment.
- Andrew Houser, manager, Colorado
Potato Certification Service
IDAHO
Planting of the 2022 Idaho seed
potato crop started on time and was
Spudman * November/December 2022
19
Spudman November/December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman November/December 2022
