Powering predictions for potato farmers

Potato growers in Washington have a powerful new tool to help them make decisions about their crops, one that's saving the industry in the state nearly $10 million each year.

Washington State University is the lead partner in the Potato Decision Aid System, introduced in 2021. It uses weather information from WSU's AgWeatherNet system and regular monitoring of fields to create computer models and risk maps.

"We tell producers, consultants, suppliers when things are going to happen on a farm," said David Crowder, a professor in the WSU Department of Entomology and director of the Decision Aid System.

Things like when to plant, how long it will take plants to progress through life stages, and when certain insects will be active. The site also has a wealth of information in a searchable format that once might have only been available as paper documents, all accessible via computer or mobile device.

Regardless of what crop you're growing or where you're growing it, you're affected by the weather in some way. We're using weather data to make predictions and help growers improve efficiency.

Though the Potato Decision Aid System is relatively new, it's a version of a similar tool used in the tree fruit industry for decades. Other agricultural producers are looking at the Decision Aid System for their crops, too.

"Regardless of what crop you're growing or where you're growing it, you're affected by the weather in some way," Crowder said. "We're using weather data to make predictions and help growers improve efficiency."

The savings mostly come from less frequent use of pesticides.

Take the potato beetle, Crowder said: "The pupal stage occurs in the soil, it doesn't cause any damage, but if the grower makes an insecticide spray during that period they're wasting their money. Our system tells them when that period is occurring in their field based on the weather." He said the system saves a potato grower about two pesticide sprays on average each season.

The Potato Decision Aid System wouldn't be successful, however, if WSU didn't have the trust of the industry. WSU Extension scientists have spent years in the fields with farmers, "which gives us a unique trust and understanding the local system," Crowder said. "All hubris aside, this system at WSU is the best one in the country."