Allotments 4 All

i was told by an old plotter on the site ...dont let your spuds flower...pick of all the flowers and youl get more spuds..is he taking the p$%^s..or what?


jtw

I've heard of this but never followed it up.

I guess the theory is; as with most plants you don't want them to run to seed so you remove the flowers.

As the 'true' potato seed (as opposed to seed potato) comes from these flowers, I suppose it if feasable this seed growth could affect tuber output.

But in my experience very few haulms produce the 'tomato' like growths (these contain the seed) meaning that possibly the variety is sterile or wasn't pollinated resulting in no seed growth.

So in conclusion I would say it is not worth the trouble removing the flowers as I guess any potential affect will be minimal.

Or is it I am just too idle to do it!  ::) 8)

Anyone else got a view on the subject?

Research indicates that there is a slight gain in yield by removing potato flowers before they produce berries. Modern potatoes usually have very few flowers so the gain is neglible, older varieties can have significantly more flowers but the effect on yield is still very slight.

Yet I recently read on a beekeeping forum that potato farmers in Canada will pay for pollination services on the grounds that pollination increases yield.  Of course, they may not necessarily wait until the seeds develop.