Frost damage reports from Canada continue to trickle into the United States following the devastating cold wave that swept over Canada, hitting parts of the United States last week.
In the northern section of Alberta near Edmonton, losses of the province's seed potato crop are estimated at 12 percent.
In southern Alberta's commercial production areas, frost was reportedly driven at least five inches into potato hills, thereby damaging at least 30-50 percent of the potatoes under them.
With that type of frost damage, growers will probably not dig the potatoes left in the ground because of tuber breakdown problems once they are dug and stored. In addition, if the frozen potatoes are stored with good potatoes, the decay will spread quickly throughout potato piles, potentially destroying entire crops.