South Korea: Autumn potatoes should be planted as whole-seed potatoes

(Korea Agricultural News = Reporter Kim Eun-jin) The Rural Development Administration (Director Kwon Jae-han) urged people not to cut off sprouted seed potatoes but to plant them as is in order to produce fall potatoes stably. According to the Agricultural Observation Center, the production of fall potatoes planted last year is expected to decrease by 7.3% compared to the previous year due to poor weather conditions in major potato production areas this year. In this situation, if potatoes are cut and planted, the emergence rate may be lower than when planted whole, which may further affect production reduction. Fall potatoes are planted in the mid- to late-August period with high temperatures and humidity during the late rainy season, so if you cut and plant seed potatoes as in spring cultivation, the wound at the cut site may not heal well. In addition, bacterial activity is high in hot and humid soil, which can cause pathogens to invade potato wounds and cause rot. As a result ...