Publications and research reports to help you manage your growing potato crop

Soil health

Potatoes levy contributed to the substantial  AHDB programme of research on soils and soil health. A range of publications covering soil biology, how to assess soil health, measuring and managing organic matter and reports on the soils research are available in the GREATsoils section of the main AHDB website. 


Varieties, tuber care, seed spacing

AHDB funded an Independent Variety Trials  (IVT) programme which provided information on varietal susceptibility to blemish diseases. The results provided additional information to complement that generated through National List (NL) testing. Ratings from both programmes were entered into the Potato Variety Database which is maintained by SASA.

Access the IVT project reports

The Tuber Treatments factsheet, published in 2019, was designed to help assess disease risk and the suitability of tubers for treatment. More information on the diseases is available in Tuber Disease and Defects pages. 

Tuber Treatments

Tuber Disease and Defects

Seed rate guides are available to download via the Seed Potatoes Spacing page: 

Seed Potatoes Spacing


Crop nutrition, irrigation

Potatoes levy was used to update the nutrient management guidance in Section 5 of RB209. Visit the main AHDB website for the latest versions of RB209 guides.

The main website also includes information on water availability, irrigation and drought. Only the potato-specific publications have been provided on this Legacy site.

Download potato-specific content:

Water Management for Potatoes 2018 (pdf)

Research reports, for example, on irrigation and the managment of common scab, can be accessed via the link to Potato Agronomy Research Reports below.

Potato Agronomy Research Reports


Crop protection

Click on the images below to visit our pages covering aphids and virus, late blight, PCN, weeds and volunteer control.

Each page also provides a list of levy-funded research projects and reports.


Haulm destruction and harvest

From 2018 onwards, AHDB funded field trials on desiccation, to provide guidance on haulm destruction without diquat. Use the links below to access the findings from that work - including webinar recordings and video. 

The  Harvesting section includes a 2013 guide on Minimising Damage. It covers harvester and grader settings and there are checklists for minimising bruising. 


Presentations from SPot Farm trials on crop protection, crop nutrition and irrigation

Visit the Potato Storage Hub


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