Brazil: Potato harvest in Southwest São Paulo reaches the final stretch with climate and phytosanitary challenges

At the end of November, Southwest São Paulo had completed 95% of its winter potato harvest, with the remaining 5% expected to be harvested in December. The region follows a planting calendar that runs from May to August, with harvesting beginning in September. During this period, some producers choose to temporarily interrupt harvesting, while others reduce production to avoid competition with other markets. Thus, the harvest can be divided into two phases: the dry phase (with harvesting until the end of August) and the winter phase (starting in September). In this harvest, both the dry and winter phases of production were significantly impacted by the presence of whitefly, which had limited control. In addition, problems with black spot and blackleg were recorded, but control of these diseases was considered effective. Mild temperatures helped improve productivity in the winter phase, compared to the dry phase. However, the months of September and October were marked by scarce ...