The Idaho potato variety development program, started in 1985, has released four new Russet varieties with improved yield, quality and disease resistance. These varieties cut grower expenses by 10 percent and increase the percentage of marketable potatoes by 25 percent to 35 percent. Narrow rows mean more dough. Arkansas dryland soybean researchers showed that increasing the number of plants per acre by reducing the spacing between rows consistently increased yields and profits. About 2 million acres of dryland soybeans are planted each year in Arkansas.
New grass sweetens onion profits.
A four-year demonstration project by Cornell Extension has documented the value of planting sudangrass on commercial onion fields. Sudangrass suppresses harmful pests and builds soil. Using sudangrass, growers have experienced a 29 percent increase in onion yields and reduced production costs. Planting sudangrass in rotation with onions on the 12,000 acres of commercial onions in New York would also reduce pesticide and fertilizer applications by 75,000 pounds a year. Peanuts profit from double rows.