No. 10/22 SUBSCRIBER EDITION: please go to potatostorageinsight.com/subscribe to sign up
Welcome to Synopsis, Potato Storage Insight's monthly publication bringing you news, technical information and developments on potato storage issues.
PSI Potato Store Managers' Course prospectus released
The programme and booking form for next year's PSI Potato Store Managers' Course is being released with this bulletin. The course will be held on Wednesday 15 & Thursday 16 March 2023 at the Weston Hall Hotel, Bulkington, near Coventry. The venue benefits from easy access from the M1, M6 and M69 motorways and is a short drive from Birmingham airport.
The early-bird prices for the course (£390* non-residential, £455* residential) have been held at the same level as 2021, so please book early to benefit from this focused two-day training opportunity. At just £65* extra, the residential package is very much recommended and includes full dinner, bed and breakfast.
This is a participative course for growers and store managers who are involved in the day-to-day management of potato stores. The course follows a tried and tested format and will include talks, group discussions and practical interactive sessions, focusing on all aspects of potato storage. There will be opportunity for delegates to raise specific concerns and for these to be addressed during the course on a 1:1 or group basis. Delegate numbers are limited to 20**, so early application is recommended. Areas covered will include:
Store management principles
Storage buildings and control systems
Basic physiology for storage
Store monitoring
Store hygiene and disease control
Maintaining skin finish for pre‑packing
Drying, wound healing & pull-down
Managing processing crop quality
Sprout suppression options post-CIPC
Condensation control
Energy efficiency & cost control
Seed store management
Store loading strategies
Practical store operation
Store ventilation
Quality control and protocols
Health & safety
An electronic booking form and full details are available on the PSI website. Click here to open the booking form in a new window.
*excluding VAT **subject to change
BEST PRACTICE in November/December
Getting those last potatoes into store in dry condition has been a primary focus for producers with any late-lifted crops destined for storage. If additional drying has been needed, focusing air delivery to - ideally - positively ventilate late-loaded crops would be a priority.
Beyond that, pulling temperatures down would logically follow, but many growers have been finding that a challenge, with little in the way of suitable ambient air for cooling. To maximise the efficiency of the cooling process, the standard recommendation is to set fans on automatic with a target crop/ambient differential of 2C, wherever possible. If you choose to reduce this diff. in the quest to grab a bit more cool air, remember that your fan could add ½-¾C to the ventilating airstream so, depending on the length of the air path, you could find you effectively run out of cooling before the air can get back to the fan. Avoid running fans on manual as this overrides the periods when conditions are not suitable for ventilation and will probably result in worsening the crop condition overall.