I was talking to a potato producer last week about how he’d attacked the growing season challenges and harvest headaches he faced this year, and how he’d proactively managed his pile as soon as it hit storage to ensure it would settle well once the bin doors closed.
I felt like we were really on the same forward-thinking page… until I asked him how his pile is doing now. “Now?” he responded with surprise. “Fine, I guess. We got it settled in October and now it’s the waiting game ‘til we ship in about June.”
ARGH! That wait and see approach, which is unfortunately common across potato storage management, isn’t doing producers any favours. We’re not even halfway through storage season yet: there’s still a whole lot of storage ahead, and a whole lot of opportunity to lose what you worked so hard to grow.
Though we’ve all heard of the catastrophic, whole bin lost to rot nightmares, the fortunate reality is that major losses are very, very few and far between. What’s a whole lot more common, however, is low-level — but let me be clear: still very costly! — loss. I’ve used the analogy before that sprouts are like tiny chimneys, venting out dollars. I’ve seen storage piles shrink by up to three feet over a storage season, even if the spuds’ sprouts stay well within processors’ inch and a half sprout length limit, because the sprouts release so much moisture.
Sprouting is NOT an inevitability. Farmers should not tolerate any level of sprouting in their stored potatoes. To achieve that, however, farmers need to shift from a ‘treat it once and done’ storage mindset.
1,4SIGHT, formulated for table stock and processing potatoes, is the only true dormancy enhancer available for potatoes in North America today. The product can be applied right at bin close-up to help settle the pile, and/or anytime through the next months of storage when the pile begins to break dormancy. Extremely flexible, it works as a stand-alone product or in combination with CIPC. In addition to inhibiting sprouting, 1,4SIGHT triggers health maintaining and water loss limiting genes that support tuber quality and minimize both shrinkage and fungal spread. We also keep getting anecdotal reports that, when applied a couple weeks before load-out, 1,4SIGHT reduces pressure bruise colour formation. Let me be clear: no product will remove a bruise. However, 1,4SIGHT appears to trigger genes in tubers that make bruising much less visible. We’re working with independent researchers to better understand the science of bruise management and will hopefully have results to report soon.
Proactive management pays.
