Maincrop potatoes now 80 per cent harvested but race is now on to lift rest of crop before frosts hit
Northern Ireland’s maincrop potato harvest is now 80 per cent complete, however the recent heavy rainfall has slowed progress, according to Irish potato packer Wilson’s Country.
The brand’s agronomist Stuart Meredith said: “The progress made with this year’s harvest up to now is on a par with that achieved in 2024. The recent heavy rains have held up harvesting in all areas.”
He added: “As we move into November, there is an increased risk of frosts, so the sooner we get the remaining 20 per cent lifted, the better as the quality of the product in the ground can deteriorate quite quickly.”
There have been a number of quality issues with the 2025 maincrop harvest, according to Meredith. “Bruising is one of these that will have an impact on packing yields,” he confirmed.
“Again, this is very much a weather-related issue, directly associated with the lack of moisture that we had over the summer months. As potato crops come under moisture stress, the dry matter content within the tubers below the ground rises rapidly, as was the case this year in some areas.”
This leads to black bruises under the skin of the potatoes during the harvesting process, however with the higher dry matter “comes a flourier, better tasting potato for the consumer”, he said.
In terms of potato yields, there is a north/south split in Northern Ireland.
“All potato crops came under significant moisture stress as they were bulking up,” Meredith reported. “This was a direct consequence of the dry summer weather. However, crops grown in lighter soils, such as those prevalent in South County Down, were more badly affected than was the case in places like Northern Antrim, where the heavier clay soils are more moisture-retentive.”
Across the board, the Wilson’s Country agronomist is projecting an average potato yield of 18 tonnes per acre, which is representative of what the supplier would expect in a normal year.
“Our own potato acreage is up slightly this year,” he added. “And this reflects our growing commitment to salad potatoes, including the varieties Venezia and Empress. These salad varieties were planted out later than maincrop varieties but harvested at an earlier date.”
