All over the country, the yields of potato growers are declining rapidly this year. Through the land? No, farmers in the Waldviertel are even breaking records this year. Remarkable, precisely because the weather here is particularly rough and the ground rather bare.
Four out of five potatoes on red-white-red menus come from Lower Austria. About a tenth of the domestic cultivation area is located in the Zwettl district. Farmers are now reporting a very encouraging countertrend. As reported, the room fears a bad harvest this year – the heat, drought and especially the wireworm infestation would have affected the plants. “If there is a lack of moisture in the soil, pests get the tubers,” said Vice President Lorenz Mayr, who called for security of supply to be placed above the pesticide ban.
Important, but not just as food
In the Waldviertel, however, the situation around potatoes should be much less bad. With regard to the production of starch potatoes, the Zwettl district in particular was able to grow more than strongly. “Currently, the field statistics show a 37 percent increase in acreage,” says Dietmar Hipp of the regional IG Erdäpfel. Valuable potato starch is then obtained from the yields in Gmünd, which is used not only in the food industry but also in the paper and pharmaceutical sector.
The climate in the “high north” is too harsh for wireworms
Moreover, both the harsh climate and the rather harsh soil conditions in the Waldviertel are not easy conditions for farmers. But that also has its good side, because also in the “high north” many pests such as the wireworm have a hard time.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
