The area of land in the UK that is currently ‘well suited’ for potatoes could decline by as much as 74% by the year 2050 as a result of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather, a new report has said.
The report, from the Climate Coalition, states that climate change is posing a threat to fruit and vegetable production due to more frequent and severe heatwaves and flooding.
Sensitivity
Outdoor crops such as potatoes are particularly sensitive to changes in rainfall, temperature and soil.
As potatoes require reasonable amounts of water, lack of rainfall is likely to severely limit their production in the future, it states.
The report details how getting approval for irrigation will be limited, with 43% of growers on catchments defined as being over-licensed or over-abstracted.
Pest attack
Apart from water, the biggest threats facing growers are pests and diseases. For example, the roundworm pest potato cyst nematode already causes losses of approximately £50m per year to UK growers.
That figure is predicted to rise, with the pest benefiting from warmer soil and air temperatures due to climate change.
Western European countries have, up until now, largely escaped the Colorado potato beetle which can destroy entire crops.
Although widespread in continental Europe, there have been only a few cases in the UK.
But with a warmer climate, it is feared this beetle will become a much greater pest in the UK, the report concludes.
Read more
IFA potato report: prices holding steady
Positive ventilation - a step change in potato storage
The area of land in the UK that is currently ‘well suited’ for potatoes could decline by as much as 74% by the year 2050 as a result of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather, a new report has said.
The report, from the Climate Coalition, states that climate change is posing a threat to fruit and vegetable production due to more frequent and severe heatwaves and flooding.
Sensitivity
Outdoor crops such as potatoes are particularly sensitive to changes in rainfall, temperature and soil.
As potatoes require reasonable amounts of water, lack of rainfall is likely to severely limit their production in the future, it states.
The report details how getting approval for irrigation will be limited, with 43% of growers on catchments defined as being over-licensed or over-abstracted.
Pest attack
Apart from water, the biggest threats facing growers are pests and diseases. For example, the roundworm pest potato cyst nematode already causes losses of approximately £50m per year to UK growers.
That figure is predicted to rise, with the pest benefiting from warmer soil and air temperatures due to climate change.
Western European countries have, up until now, largely escaped the Colorado potato beetle which can destroy entire crops.
Although widespread in continental Europe, there have been only a few cases in the UK.
But with a warmer climate, it is feared this beetle will become a much greater pest in the UK, the report concludes.
Read more
IFA potato report: prices holding steady
Positive ventilation - a step change in potato storage
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