Angus farmers are at the forefront of efforts to take on the developing challenge of the potato cyst nematode (NPC), which has a multi-million pound effect on Scotland’s potato industry each year.
While chemical characteristics are eliminated from use, an organization of manufacturers and researchers has resorted to biological strategies such as chitin-rich compost made from a substance found naturally in molluscs.
Martin Cessford, founded in Brechin, Angus Horticulture, developed the compost and lately is testing it in a box scheduled for the NCP, a box that was removed from production due to NCP, on his farm in Whanland. Compost in NCP infestation is monitored through a study station in Belgium.
Mr. Cessford said: “Dr. Andy Evans of SRUC received a seafood dispensation from food waste 12 years ago and in six years the fields were clean.
“We know that it turns the flora of the soil, we know that it turns the ground, we just have to do it.
The organization also works with the Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS), led through soil association Scotland, such as precision agriculture company SoilEssentials, Scottish Agronomy and Science
Jim Wilson, managing director of SoilEssentials, said: “We use high-intensity sampling to locate PCN nematodes. That provides us with a foundation – unless you know where the challenge is and how big it is, you can’t make a plan to solve it. . “
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