PSI Bulletin: June 2025
No. 06/25 SUBSCRIBER EDITION
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Dear Subscriber,
Welcome to your June edition of the Synopsis bulletin from Potato Storage Insight. We're still running a little late this month but hope to be back to our normal publication date around 20th of the month from July.
At this time of year, we are usually seeing stores clearing quite fast but demand has been unusually slow due to the very hot weather and with new crops bulking quickly. See our best practice section below for guidance on keeping crops in store for a while longer... And there's some tips on store cleaning and maintenance...
PSI activity
There has been a good deal of interest in our next Potato Storage Insight training course coming up in September.
It will be a one day course on Tuesday 2nd September to be held at the Greetham Valley Hotel & Leisure Complex in Rutland, LE15 7SN, a couple of miles off the A1. The course is limited to 16 delegates and over half the places have already gone. Lunch is included and BASIS CPD points will be available.
The cost is £375 + VAT per person. At present, there is an early bird discount of £30 available to those submitting a completed booking before close of play on Tuesday 1st July.
Please get in touch if you need further details and a booking form or click here. You can call Adrian on 07970 072260 or email admin@potatostorageinsight.com. Otherwise, our focus will be on getting out and about to some summer events; it's still not too late to book some on-site stores assessments for the summer but time is running out...
Best practice
CROPS STILL IN STORE
We reminded you last month to keep a regular check on quality of crops still in storage and to try to maintain marketing flexibility through judicious selection of late sprout suppressant treatments, for example. Fundamentally, keep abreast of the quality of the crop as this is key to being able to move it quickly in response to any market need.
In the past few weeks there has been a surge in demand for late applications of spearmint oil and orange oil to keep sprouting in check as temperature control gets stretched in the hot weather, especially in part-filled stores. Reports have indicated that crops are very keen to grow given the time of year and the weather conditions.
To make sure suppressant applications are effective, do as much as possible to ensure the crop is fully dry before application and to concentrate the fan-assisted circulation of the product on to the potatoes. Do not block the airflow fully as this may cause fall-out, but do close off short circuits that might allow the chemical to by-pass the potatoes.
Some recent uses of products has highlighted that not all speed-controlled fans will actually slow down sufficiently to facilitate active recirculation of chemicals. Work with your BASIS-qualified applicator and check manufacturers' guidance to ensure fan speeds can be reduced to around 10-20 Hertz (ie 20-40% of full fan speed). If fans run too quickly, they can result in chemical being impacted onto tubers (risking scorch) or boxes (where it is not effective).
Last month we highlighted the issue of senescence and how this can affect long-term stored crops. Recently, we have received some reports of blackheart also becoming apparent in later-stored material.
Blackheart is a condition where the internal tissues of the tuber begin to breakdown due to necrosis resulting from a lack of oxygen.
Blackheart can have a catastrophic effect on a stock so it is definitely worth cutting a few tubers to check for any signs of its development, especially if your crop or storage situation fits one or more of these higher risk categories:
Crop lifted/loaded in high ambient temperatures
Held at temperatures of 3C or below
Risk of condensation within boxes
Use of ethylene
Stored for over 30 weeks
Susceptible crops/varieties, eg salads
STORE HYGIENE & MAINTENANCE
At this time of year, many store owners will be looking to address any shortcomings in their stores ahead of next season...
A major task will be to clean out stores ahead of next year's crop. An industrial vacuum has been scientifically proven to be much more effective than any form of brush as it removes the dirt, debris and spores from the building. Areas that have been subjected to wet rot should be steam-cleaned where possible. If washing, avoid overwetting open-textured insulation materials as the water will reduce the insulation's effectiveness.
The other key factor is that, by taking away the organic matter, you give any subsequent disinfection treatment a much better chance of being successful. If it is not removed, the organic matter neutralises the effect of a product such as peracetic acid (eg Jet 5).
Make sure you check out any temperature probes' condition and fix them tidily ready for re-use. Use a good quality handheld thermometer to verify installed probes as they can lose their accuracy, especially if they are damaged or stretched...
Technical insight
Fresh market sample data still urgently required
Thank you to all those who have sent data through in recent weeks but we are still short of our target of 125 samples, especially from fresh market crops. This is despite a season-long appeal for residue data.
Just to remind you that the results are needed to help retain the temporary MRL for chlorpropham (0.35 mg/kg) to allow the industry to continue using stores previously-treated with CIPC. We need to be able to submit data to CRD by the end of August for our second year report, so please act now!
Any multi-residue test result that has included chlorpropham can be used providing:
the test is from a crop held in store during the 2024/25 season for 60 days or more
the store has a history of at least one CIPC application in its lifetime
the test has been carried out at a UKAS accredited laboratory
Zero (or below Level of Detection) residue results are welcome as long as the criteria above are satisfied.
If you can help, please contact adrian@potatostorageinsight.com and you will be sent a simple data form (or download it via the link below) to return with a copy of your lab result sheet. It’s as simple as that yet it's a vital role potato store managers can play to assist our industry.
Further information about this request is available on the GB Potatoes webpage at:
No data could mean no tMRL and then previously-treated stores will be vulnerable to exceedances.
British Potato Industry Awards: 19 November 2025
British Potato Review are promoting the BPIA event and have provided the following information as they seek nominations for the ten categories ahead of the submission deadline of 4 September:
Award Categories
What are the awards for and who can enter? There are 10 award categories. Some may feature more than one winner to differentiate between small and large-scale projects where applicable. Details of who can enter, and what the judges are looking for, are outlined in each category below.
How to enter: To be considered, forms must be fully-completed and contain as much information as possible so judges can make informed decisions. We don't want anyone to miss out, so please be sure to include full contact information on any entry forms you complete, along with the name and details of who you are nominating (even if you are nominating yourself or your own company/organisation).
What supporting information is needed? Photos, logos, videos and any other type of illustration (eg. graphs, charts etc) can help to increase understanding and showcase why something is award-worthy, so please include wherever possible. You can also provide URLs to websites or online articles if you wish.
How many categories can be entered? There is no limit to how many entries you make or how many categories are entered, providing all entries are relevant and full information given. More than one entry can also be made for the same company within individual categories if relevant and applicable.
Snippets
HUTCHINSON FIELD EVENT INFORMATION
NEW SEPARATOR ON THE MARKET
Grantham-based Farm Electronics, best known for their storage systems, has introduced a new separating & sorting machine (below) to its product range which it will be displaying at the forthcoming Potatoes in Practice and British Potato 2025 events.
MICHEL MARTIN RETIRES
After nearly 40 years spent working with the various players in the French and, in his international collaborative work, the wider European and global potato sectors, Michel Martin is retiring on 1st July.
He specialised in harvesting, handling and storage and was the head of operations at the Villers St Christophe research centre (akin to our former Sutton Bridge site in the UK) operated by Arvalis in Picardy. He was a leading contributor to the European Association for Potato Research, becoming its President in and twice chaired the association's Post-Harvest Section.
MIchel says: "During my career devoted to our favourite tuber, I have worked together with many friends across the potato industry seeking to target and promote best practice in the field and in storage in the common interest of the sector and so contribute to maintaining its competitiveness."
It has been a pleasure to know and work with Michel over many years and I wish him all the best for his retirement.
AC
Forthcoming events
If you are hosting a potato or agricultural industry event, please send details to admin@potatostorageinsight.com. Key dates for your diary with relevance to the potato sector in the coming months in UK and Europe include:
July
Thu 17 HL Hutchinson Field Trials Day
at AH Worth, Holbeach Hurn, Lincs. PE12 8LR. 10am or 1pm sessions.
See Snippets above
Thu 31 WCM Potato Trials Day 2025
at Low Grange Farm, Market Weighton, Yorkshire. YO43 3PZ
August
Tue 5 CUPGRA field day 2, Cambridge
Thu 7 Potatoes in Practice. James Hutton Institute, Dundee.
Wed 27 - Thu 28 UK Breeders' Potato Variety Days 2025
Caythorpe Farms, Lincolnshire. NG32 3EZ
September
Tue 2 PSI One Day Store Management Course, Rutland.
See details above
Wed 3/ Potato Europe International working exhibition, Lelystad, The Netherlands
Thu 4
November
Wed 19 - Thu 20 BP2025 - the British Potato Event, Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate
Exhibition, seminars and industry awards dinner on the Wednesday evening. Save the date!
Details from: bpinfo@warnersgroup.co.uk
December
Tue 9 - Wed 10 CUPGRA Conference, Cambridge
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Synopsis is written by Adrian Cunnington and published by Potato Storage Insight Ltd., 45 Main St., Gedney Dyke, Spalding, PE12 0AJ. UK.
© Potato Storage Insight Ltd. 2025
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