|
      Super tubers!
Jason Menegazzo with freshly dug Sebago potatoes at “Dellapool”, Narrandera, NSW. Riverina potato grower, Jason Menegazzo, has improved tuber quality, pack-out rates and shelf life since switching to a biological nutrition program delivered through his centre pivot irrigation system. Jason manages the family farming company, G.M. Menegazzo and Company, which grows 200 hectares of irrigated potatoes in rotation with mixed cereals, canola, sorghum and rice in a mixture of soil types at “Dellapool”, near Narrandera. The potatoes – mostly Atlantics and Sebagos – are grown mainly under contract to processors and wholesalers on the eastern seaboard. Potatoes are planted in January-February for the winter harvest and in spring for the summer harvest. The family has farmed at Narrandera since 1974, when Jason’s father, Gerald, moved his potato enterprise from Deniliquin in search of more suitable soils and water. Both father and son became intrigued by biological farming techniques after reading books by well-known biological farming advocates, Gary Zimmer and Arden Andersen. “They sparked our interest in that whole approach to nutrient management,” Jason said. “We contacted BioAg and started using their fertilisers and practices four years ago. We now use a combination of biological and conventional techniques, whichever works best in a given situation.” In a typical potato crop, BioAgPhos and lime are applied pre-plant using a belt spreader and incorporated by sowing. After the plants have emerged, BioAg Soil & Seed is applied through the irrigation system. The centre pivots are also used later in the growing season to apply BioAg Balance & Grow. Jason said tuber quality had improved with the move to biological farming, although yields had remained the same. “Shelf life is better, pack out has improved and we’re not getting the breakdown we used to,” he said. “The plants seem healthier and healthy plants are more resistant to fungal diseases. Soil structure has improved and we’re seeing more worm activity, although this could be partly due to the elimination of livestock and pasture rotations over the same period.” |
|
