Potatoes

WHAT ARE POTATOES?

Potatoes are tubers. A tuber is a fleshy, food-storing swelling at the tip of an underground stem, also called a stolon. Potatoes have white, brown, purple or red skin and white or golden flesh.

WHERE ARE POTATOES PRODUCED IN BC?

The main areas where potatoes are grown are the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and the Kootenay.

HOW MANY POTATOES DO WE PRODUCE?

BC produces about 71,000 tonnes of potatoes valued at $20 million. This quantity of potatoes would create a pile 10m high by 10m wide and 11.3km long.

HOW ARE POTATOES PRODUCED?

Potatoes grow from eyes which are pieces cut from seed potatoes. As potatoes grow they must be hilled when the plants are 20 to 30cm high. Hilling is done by covering the base of the plant with soil to prevent the potatoes from exposure to light which causes them to turn green. Before harvesting, potato vines are killed to allow the skin to set. A mechanical harvester is used to pick the potatoes. Potatoes need to be harvested at certain temperatures to maximize the length of time they can be stored. If the temperature is too warm, the pulp deteriorates before cooling can occur. If temperature is too cool, the potatoes are bruised during harvest.

WHAT DOES A POTATO LOOK LIKE WHEN I USE IT?

Fresh potatoes, potato chips and French fries are the most common uses for potatoes. They are a good source of potassium, iron, thiamin, folic acid and vitamin C. The nutritive value of potatoes is reduced the more the potato is processed. Thus, French fries have about one-half as much vitamin C as boiled or mashed potatoes have. Potatoes are about 80% water.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE POTATO LEAVES THE FARM?

Potatoes are harvested from early summer through to late fall. Those harvested during the summer and early fall are trucked to on-farm packing operations or processors. At these facilities, the potatoes are washed, graded, packaged and distributed to buyers throughout BC and western Canada. Potatoes for processing in BC go mainly for the making of potato chips.

Those harvested in the fall are put into storage, and loads are removed and distributed to wholesalers and processors as the market demands. Approximately 40% of the main crop goes for processing, with the remaining 60% destined for the fresh market.

WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE POTATO PRODUCER FACE?

Potato late blight and insect pests are a concern for potato growers. A new program is in place to map the occurrence of plant diseases and insect infestation in a geographic information system. By knowing where disease and insect problems are likely to occur, IPM (Integrated Pest Management) can be utilized more efficiently.

WHO'S INVOLVED IN PRODUCING POTATOES?

• Potato grower
• Field workers
• Seed potato producer
• Employees in processing plants
• Agri-business suppliers
• Financiers

Interesting Fact About Potatoes:

Potatoes are the most grown vegetable in the world. In BC, there are more potatoes grown than any other vegetable.

Contacts and other resources:

 

BCMAL - Field Vegetable Information

BC Vegetable Marketing Commission

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