"MAXIMUM POTATO GROWTH AND QUALITY"

OBJECTIVE: To create a Maine Potato Growers, Inc. sponsored interest group amongst MPG Grower members and clients to emphasize enhance of yield and quality of tablestock potatoes.

CONCEPT:

1. Enroll interested growers in an educational/crop improvement interest group to adopt cultural practices and crop handling strategies that will lead to increases in marketable yield and quality.
2. The Cooperative to provide fieldman consultation, oversight and educational program support to assist club enrollees to adopt standard practices to enhance crop production.
3. The Cooperative to develop a program educational conferences, kitchen coffee clusters, and field staff "on-farm" visitations and consultations to assist grower enrollees to implement cultural, rotation, and handling practices that will lead to maximized potato growth and quality.
4. Consultants will be employed as needed to provide intensive training to MPG Crop Department field personnel to assure uniform delivery of crop management suggestions and appropriate technology to grower enrollees and to assist with development and delivery of educational conferences.

CROP MANAGEMENT AND HANDLING PROGRAM EMPHASIS AREAS:
The production and handling areas requiring major emphasis to achieve "MPG&Q" include Improving seed vigor and productivity, Improving potato stands, Prescription management of soil reaction and fertility, Integrated weed and pest management, Sunburn prevention, Bruise prevention and Maintenance of crop quality in storage.

1. Seed Handling:
   1. Seed Selection
   2. Seed Storage and Conditioning
   3. Seed Cutting and Treatment
   4. Post Cutting Seed Handling
   
   
2. Improving Potato Stands:
   1. Adjusting and Operating Seed Cutters
   2. Adjusting, Calibrating, and Maintaining Potato Planters
   3. Improving Seed Beds
   
   
3. Prescription Soil Management:
   1. Improving Soil Reaction
   2. Improving Soil Fertility
   3. Developing Soil Management and Rotation Strategies
   4. Improving Water Holding Capacity of Potato Soils
   
   
4. Integrated Pest Management:
   1. Adopting Thresholds and Forecasting Technology
   2. Improving Scouting Techniques
   3. Developing a Cooperative Diagnostic Laboratory to Support MPG&Q
   
   
5. Sunburn Prevention:
   1. Improving Tillage and Hilling Techniques
   2. Post Vine Kill Management to Avoid Sunburn
   
   
6. Preventing Crop Handling Damage:
   1. Developing On-Farm Anti-Bruise Programs
   2. Conditioning Crop for "Low Bruise" Harvest
   3. Adopting MPG&Q Program of Potato Harvester Modification, Calibration, & Operation
   4. Adopting MPG&Q Program of Handling Potatoes into Storage
   
   
7. Storage Management:
   1. Instituting a MPG&Q Pre-Storage Check-Up Program
   2. Adopting a Certificate Program of Storage Management (i.e.: Club 500 storage course)
   
   

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