Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Researchers in Maine have expressed concern that if they get a few degrees warmer, they won’t be able to grow potatoes anymore. But since the Maine potato variety is widely grown in subtropical Bundaberg, my question is, what problem are the researchers really trying to solve?
Researchers try to produce potatoes that are resistant to climate change
November 28, 2021
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — University of Maine researchers are trying to produce potatoes that can better withstand warming temperatures as the climate changes.
Gregory Porter, a professor of ecology and crop management, said: told Bangor Daily News.
“The projections for climate change are more rainfall, and the potatoes don’t tolerate flooding or wet conditions for long periods of time without other quality problems,” Porter said. “If we want potatoes to continue to be successfully produced in Maine, we need to be able to produce varieties that can resist change.”
Around the world, studies aimed at minimizing damage to crops are underway. A NASA study published this month found that climate change could affect corn and wheat production, reducing yields of both, as early as 2030.
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Bundaberg, Australia (24 degrees south, average annual temperature 77F) is the main potato and vegetable growing region, along with sugar cane, strawberries, pineapple and bananas and who knows what else. Bundaberg experiences a lot of tropical rain and occasional floods.
The subtropical Bundaberg actually grows MAIN potatoes. They are no different than the varieties that farmers grow or have grown in Maine.
NS Subtropical Bundaberg grows Potatoes Sebago at the top of the picture developed by the United States Department of Agriculture in partnership with Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in 1938.
What’s the secret to Bundaberg’s success with potatoes grown in Maine? It’s simple – Bundaberg farmers plant potatoes in the fall, mature over winter and harvest in spring, before the summer heat kills them. The closer you get to the tropics, the sooner you need to plant, if you want to grow temperate vegetables, until somewhere around 27 degrees from the equator, you move right through the winter and start growing. in the fall.
My view is that the problems of growing crops like potatoes in warm climates have been solved by farmers who have grown potatoes in warm climates for centuries. To suggest that this is any kind of challenge seems a bit far-fetched.
None of the remotely acceptable levels of global warming that Maine is likely to experience over the next century will be close to Maine matching Bundaberg’s climate. Any warming in Maine could be tackled by simply varying the planting time by a few days, draining it a bit, and possibly importing some Australian tropical potato farming know-how.
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