1. Don McMoran Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator WSU Skagit County Extension Irrigation to combat silver scurf in Potatoes

2. Skagit Valley Agriculture 113,821 acres farmable –Small plots of land Climate –Maritime –32 inches of rainfall Major crops –Potatoes –Seed Crops –Small Fruit Crops –Flower bulbs and nursery

3. Acreage 1968- 537 acres of potatoes in Skagit County. 2007- 13,250 acres of potatoes in Skagit County

4. Irrigation need

5. Irrigation of Potatoes Irrigation has increased from 0 to ~15,000 acres in Skagit County alone. Reel Big Gun

6. Big Gun Evaluation- Farmer A

7. Farmer B

8. Farmer C

9. Farmer D

10. … du rep1du rep 2avg du Farmer A0.1436280.0352560.089442 Farmer B0.1914810.1353090.163395 Farmer C0.7762560.7286720.752464 Farmer D0.802552 Average0.4784790.3819680.430224

11. Boom Type Carts

12. Energy Comparisons Big-gunBoom Big-gun Boom Fuel Cost/Season 2,585$ 723$ 9,435$ 2,462$ Cost/acre-in 2.59$ 1.02$ 9.44$ 3.49$ ElectricDiesel

13. WSU NWREC – Drip Irrigation in Potatoes Trial- Incubating Silver Scurf in Storage

14. Silver Scurf seed ranking 30 tuber analysis Silver scurf severity 1.4% Silver Scurf Incidence 70% Common scab

15. Cultivating and Chemigation- 45 DAP

16. Irrigation Scheduler mobile

17. Great looking trial

18. Harvest

19. WSU NWREC Yield

20. Washing and preparation for Storage

21. WSU NWREC results – size categories

22. Evaluation

23. Silver Scurf

24. Conclusion Farmers in Skagit County can improve irrigation on big gun irrigation by trying to cover less ground per set and irrigating at night, after daytime winds die down. Boom type irrigators do a better job of irrigation and use less energy but are not as convenient to use. Drip irrigation uses the least amount of energy and has the highest start up costs. Adding fertigation, chemigation and other practices will be required to encourage farmers to make the switch to energy efficient irrigation practices in western Washington.

25. Special Thanks Washington State Potato Commission Washington State Department of Agriculture Western Washington Agriculture Association Clear Water Supply Skagit Farmers Supply WSU NWREC Viva Farms Skagit County

26. Questions/Comments Don McMoran Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Faculty County Director WSU Skagit County Extension 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A Burlington, WA (360) 757-7136 dmcmoran@wsu.edu