Hilling Potatoes - 2017

[@jimh6879]

been gone many years, looked like the bluff in the background

[@jimh6879]

by Bancroft?

[@CoreyPerron]

Yeah

[@patrickc8190]

what are you spraying on as you hill? calcium?

[@csil2863]

Are the potatoes already planted when you do this, but not emerged yet? What function do the paddles that create the divots perform?

[@blacksheep9734]

csil when you hill potatos you are just throwing more dirt over the potato plans so more grow

[@csil2863]

ryan lucey Thanks for the answer, but that is not really my question; I know the purpose of hilling potatoes, but I don’t understand the function of the paddles at the rear of the machine. The paddles appear to only create divots in the soil; is that to aid in collecting rain or irrigation water?

[@blacksheep9734]

csil I would assume something like that, maybe to keep soil loose to not have to till, not sure myself

[@eatingamandarin]

csil This operation is performed after the potatoes are planted, but not yet emerged. After this operation, it’s most likely that a post-planting pre-emergent herbicide is applied directly to the newly formed hills which is lightly irrigated to activate the herbicide’s effectiveness. This herbicide is most often the only herbicide applied to a crop. Not always, but often.

[@eatingamandarin]

csil The dam-a-dykers leave “potholes” to collect any water running off the hills from either a heavy rain period or from the ends of the pivots which have a higher precipitation rate compared to the centre. The ‘potholes’ prevent water for running down the furrows and accumulating in the lower spots, which causes an excessively wet area conducive to disease pressure-points.

[@jimh6879]

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