Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Potato Systems Planner Decision Support CD
Identifying customers' priority research needs is one of the most critical steps in guiding the development of technology with the highest relevance and adoption potential. Consequently, the New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory (NEPSWL) initiated and co-organized a Research Visioning Workshop for the Maine potato industry to identify and prioritize its research needs. The number one research priority was finding and developing profitable crop rotations for the potato. In response to this research direction, 14 different cropping systems were evaluated for their impacts on potato yield and quality, nutrient availability, plant diseases, soil microorganisms, potential profitability, economic risk, and other factors.

This information was developed into the "Potato Systems Planner," a decision support tool on compact disk, to assist growers in selecting profitable, environmentally sound cropping systems and management practices. For example, the Planner shows that growing sweet corn in rotation with potatoes can increase profitability by approximately $400/acre. Computer simulation results presented in the Planner show that the probability of an economic loss for the sweet corn-potato system is only 3%, while the potato-potato system is 37%. These and many other research findings are presented in the Potato Systems Planner so growers can make the most informed cropping system selections and employ the appropriate management practices that are economically and environmentally sustainable.

Over 1,100 copies of the Potato Systems Planner were distributed by request to growers, consultants, extension specialists, and scientists who are now using the Planner in 24 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 28 countries. The Potato Systems Planner was selected as one of only 11 "science track" presentations for the 2006 World Potato Congress in Boise, Idaho.