Potatoes: Increasing yield and uniformity
Insight
Industry expert Phil Kingsmill oversees potato trials.
“Over the years I have come across a wide range of biostimulant products making all sorts of claims. I have been growing potatoes and long time and this is the only complex biostimulant that has impressed me”
In 2022 Maxstim invited Phil Kingsmill to supervise the biostimulant trials we were conducting on potato crops in Suffolk. Working closely with Tim Cannon, our senior agronomist, we tapped into Phil’s expertise to measure, observe and comment on trials comparing potatoes treated with Maxstim Agriculture+ to a control crop with no treatment.
For over 30 years Phil has been involved in growing commercial potato crops. He’s held various roles including former chairman of CUPGRA (Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association) and was appointed to the board of directors of a prestigious commercial grower.
“As an experienced potato grower I have a reasonable understanding of the pests and diseases affecting potatoes as well as their nutritional requirements. However, I have often noticed a wide range in crop performance within fields and certainly between fields that are often not obviously explainable. My aim was always to produce the best quality crops, sustainably and profitably.”
Phil Kingsmill
These goals align exactly with our mission to help growers achieve more through our complex biostimulants. Phil witnessed the impressive results revealed from the trials. These included:
- Plots treated with Maxstim Agriculture+ showed an increase in tuber number and size
- Treated plots had an overall yield of 74 tonnes/ha compared to 70 tonnes/ha for untreated plots
- A yield increase of nearly 6%
- When Maxstim Agriculture+ was sprayed in furrow, there were indications this improved the skin finish on potatoes
“The results speak for themselves and I believe there is opportunity to optimise the use and application of Maxstim’s products further. Reducing the use of traditional fertilisers and crop protection products can optimise the potential of the plant’s own production mechanisms. This is exciting and beneficial in the UK and globally.”
His work has continued with us this year to increase the understanding of improvements in crop performance and how best to achieve uniformity. We’re excited to have Phil be part of the team to help further understanding about the potato crop, improve future trial outputs and increase awareness of our sustainable solutions for agriculture.
If you would like to do a trial of Maxstim Agriculture + or speak with our agronomists about the benefits of complex biostimulants for potato growing, please get in touch.
Tim Cannon
Email: tim.cannon@maxstim.com
Mobile: 07884 586191
Tony Kelly
Email: tony.kelly@maxstim.com
Mobile: 07974 435417
