Potatoes are an important crop for organic producers in NYS and nationwide. In a 1996 survey of diversified vegetable growers in NJ, NY, and Pennsylvania, potatoes were the most commonly grown vegetable crop among the 46 organic growers who responded. In acreage, potatoes ranked second to allium crops. Nationally, a 1998 survey by the Organic Farming Research Foundation showed a similar trend.

In the 5-County central NY area in which I work, potatoes are also the most common crop among commercial organic producers. 25 of the 27 organic growers who responded to my 1999 survey grew potatoes. While many acres of potatoes are grown on muck soils in New York, almost all organic potatoes are grown on upland soils.

Market considerations and production methods go hand in hand for vegetable growers. This is particularly true for organic potato growers. The market pays a premium for organically grown potatoes, and this rewards the growers for more labor-intensive and costly production methods.

Seed
Organically grown seed potatoes are considerably more expensive than conventionally grown ones. Most organic certification programs allow non-organic seed potatoes to be used in organic production, but some growers prefer to use organic seed. Variety selection is very important. For instance, most organic producers grow potatoes as part of a diversified vegetable rotation, so lowering the soil pH is not a viable way to control potato scab. Resistant varieties are best.

Varieties
Chieftain, Norland, Superior, Salem, Yukon Gold, Carola, Yellow Finn, Russian Banana (fingerling), All Blue, Caribe (purple) are fairly common, but many other varieties are also grown.

Fertility and Field Preparation
Fields should be high in active organic matter, but if the OM is too fresh, there may be problems with soilborne diseases like scab and rhizoctonia. N and K requirements are rather high for good yields.

Commercial organic growers generally follow common practices such as a well-prepared seedbed, hilling, etc. in potato production. I have not seen the practices such as deep mulching in commercial fields.

Crop rotation
Fields should be rotated at least three years out of potato family crops, (including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tobacco, etc.) and strawberries before they are planted to potatoes. Sod crops are also to be avoided the year before potatoes, as they increase wireworm populations. On the other hand, corn and sorghum-sudangrass are known to benefit a following potato crop.

Many organic growers do not apply compost directly before planting potatoes, in order to keep disease pressure down. Instead, potatoes occupy a place in the rotation where they can use residual nitrogen from previous fertilizer applications. In a low-potassium soil, a mineral source of K can be applied before planting; but potatoes can also be used to remove K from fields where it is too high.

Mechanization
Potatoes can be a highly mechanized crop, with specialized equipment for everything from seed cutting and planting to hilling to harvesting. However, most organic growers operate on a small scale. In the 1996 NJ-NY-PA survey, 83% of the organic potato growers grew 3 acres or less of potatoes. (The largest organic producer grew 50 acres.) Hand methods are still common. Most mechanized organic producers have one or two pieces of used equipment; potato diggers are most common. Auctions and dealers located in traditional small scale production areas such as south of Montreal are good sources. Increased mechanization allows larger acreages to be grown, which often, but not always, reduces the unit cost of production.

Weed control
Mechanical weed control is relatively easy in potatoes, because they are hilled. This allows small weeds in the row to be buried. Growers cultivate shortly after the plants emerge, then hill twice at about 2-week intervals. This usually results in good weed control.

Insects
Colorado potato beetle (CPB) and potato leafhopper (PLH) are the two main insect pests for organic producers. If the potato field can be located over ½ mile from last year's, CPB is greatly reduced and control may be unnecessary. This does not work if weedy hosts like horse nettle are common. Non genetically engineered Bt products such as Novodor, or approved rotenone product sprays are used if necessary.

Leafhoppers are usually not actively treated by organic growers, though they can cause significant yield losses. PHL damage, called hopperburn, tends to cause the foliage to go down early in the season, reducing yields. Some late maturing varieties such as Elba, Green Mountain, and Katahdin have some resistance to leafhoppers.

Diseases
Potatoes are subject to many diseases and physiological disorders. Early and late blight, potato scab, rhizoctonia, and hollow heart all commonly affect organic producers. As usual, variety selection is important. Even late blight, for which resistant varieties are just now being introduced, can be minimized by growing early varieties. These mature before windborne late blight spores become common. Hollow heart, a disorder caused by too-rapid growth, can be minimized by close spacing and relatively early harvest.

Norland, Superior, Salem, Elba, Carola, Russian Banana (fingerling), Caribe, and russets (among others) show good resistance to scab. Some growers are able to grow scab-susceptible types by assuring an even supply of water during tuber initiation, and reducing the level of raw organic matter in the planting by not spreading compost or growing a green manure crop directly before the potatoes. Rhizoctonia is often a problem. Growers have tried microbial inoculants such as T-22 with mixed results.

Yields
20,000-40,000 pounds per acre is the usual range of organic potato yields. NYS conventional growers, often on muck soils, average around 27,000 #/A.

Marketing
Most NY organic potato growers sell their product direct to the consumer at farmers' markets or through CSA's. Prices start at $1.00 per pound or more for washed new potatoes. Retail mature storage potatoes often run 60-80 cents per pound; sometimes higher. Wholesale prices usually run about half of retail values. In 2000, wholesale prices received by local farmers stayed above 30 cents per pound, and averaged near 50 cents. In contrast, the NYS average wholesale price for conventionally grown potatoes was 9.5 cents per pound in 1998.