Potatoes are a diverse crop. With them, you can make fries, vodka, electricity and much more! According to the International Potato Center, over 65% of potatoes in production is for human consumption alone. Because of its diversity and level of consumption in a given year, it’s no wonder the potato is the world’s fourth-largest food crop, coming in just behind of corn, wheat and rice.

Many farmers use mechanized irrigation products and center pivot control to help make sure their potato crops get the precise amount of water at the right time. Since potatoes are more sensitive to water stress than most other crops, it is extremely important to know the different water requirements for each growth stage of a potato plant. When you know these water requirements, you may more readily achieve optimal growth and yields from your potatoes.

By using a center pivot control solution, such as an AgSense^® product, to manage potato irrigation remotely, a grower can control his irrigation machine from anywhere, anytime. With having this kind of flexibility, a potato farmer can make sure his crop is getting adequate water without taking time away from other important situations on the farm or in life.

The website irrigation.education offers a free course on potato irrigation called Crop Types: Potato Overview. This course will teach you the anatomy and growth stages of a potato plant, plant water requirements and best irrigation practices for potatoes. This course also includes an amusing TIC-TAC-potaTOE game! This easy-to-use resource will give you a better understanding of how potatoes grow, and what you as a grower can do to maximize your potato yields.

Visit www.irrigation.education to get started.

Happy learning!

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