No. 8/24 SUBSCRIBER EDITION: please go to potatostorageinsight.com/subscribe to sign up as a Synopsis subscriber.
Dear Subscriber,
Welcome. You are reading Synopsis, your August potato storage update from Potato Storage Insight.
Another storage season is fast approaching so hopefully some of the preparatory work we have featured in these bulletins over the past few months is already in hand. Importantly, if equipment servicing and calibration work is all done, you should be able to get right to it.
If you're changing a stacking pattern, or have a new forklift driver, don't forget to set out some empty boxes to make sure the new layout works and everybody's clear on where the boxes are going. Mark the floor if needs be. It is much better to do this than try to correct it once the boxes are full and crop is arriving at pace into the store. Don't overcrowd the store; remember that air has to be able to move freely through the potatoes to be effective. Equally so, don't leave wide aisles in the store that can offer air a shortcut - block any walkways at the fan end of the store to prevent this.
Finally, don't forget to take the meter readings before you load, so you have accurate data on energy use from Day 1.
Best practice
Blight control: don't skimp at the end of your programme!
Blight risk has been moderate of late but a turn in the weather ahead of harvest could heighten the threat prior to harvest and storage. The important message is to maintain the control programme right through the season to keep blight at bay and that includes controlling infection well enough to eliminate the risk of tuber blight.
Store cleaning: a crucial step in CIPC residue control
One of the key risks our industry is managing at the moment is the risk from chlorpropham (CIPC) contamination in previously-treated stores. Wherever residues fall between the limit of detection (0.01 mg/kg) and the current temporary MRL (0.35 mg/kg), we are essentially in uncharted waters. Under normal circumstances such a result from an unapproved treatment would mean that a crop is deemed unsuitable for sale.
Fortunately, with the tMRL in place, we are being granted some leeway to manage the residual effect of CIPC over a more extended period. One way to do this is to be particularly rigorous over the summer with store cleaning, dust removal and venting of stores. These measures will help to reduce any long-term CIPC loading and ensure that, as the tMRL is ultimately lowered, stores can still be used without risk of exceedance.
Technical Insight
The importance of skin set in potato storage
The diagram below is typical of something I might draw at the start of a PSI Store Managers' Course just to get delegates thinking about some of the processes that are at play when we start to load a store,
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