I just got back from a whirlwind trip to one of my favorite places: South Africa. My trips are never vacations — they usually start with a call that sounds like: “We’ve got a problem. Can you come help us figure it out?”
This time, the problem was a potato grower on the country’s sand belt, right on the Atlantic coast. The wind never stops, the soil is 95% sand, and keeping a potato hill in place is nearly impossible. He was fed up with fumigation — so frustrated, in fact, that he was ready to quit.
When we dug (literally) into the issue, the culprit became clear: application. Common scab was still breaking through and we knew the product could do better. We sat down, talked through how raised-row soil fumigation works for potatoes, and explained why precision — row placement, soil conditions and stewardship — matters so much. Also, the product formulation and rate need to be prescriptive based on the soil and climate conditions. As much as I shared my potato soil fumigation knowledge with him, he taught me as much about South African potato production. We worked together to dial it in.
Within an afternoon, that grower shifted from frustration to optimism. He’s not only staying on board but is already influencing neighbors: two more growers from the same area have now opted into working with us.
Soil fumigation isn’t like spraying a fungicide where the recipe’s always the same. It’s prescription farming. The product is expensive, which makes precision even more critical. Applied right, it changes everything: how potatoes grow, how they handle diseases like common scab and, ultimately, the quality and performance of the crop.
Here’s the kicker: what worked for that farmer in South Africa is no different for farmers in Canada or anywhere else. Whether you’re on the prairies or near the foothills or on the Atlantic coast, shortcuts don’t cut it. Success comes down to knowledge, precision and partnership. Farmers are smart: they’ve shown me time and time again that they’ll figure out solutions when they have the right information. My job is to share that knowledge openly and stand beside them every step of the way.
To read this article online, go to: https://spudsmart.com/sand-wind-and-common-scab-lessons-learned-from-south-africa/
To talk to someone about Strike soil fumigation, email: info@strikefumigants.com