b'Potato storageat Southern Potato Co.Olsen says maintaining the right relative humidity, along with proper tempera-ture and airflow, is particularly important in the first 30 days after potatoes go intoIts easy to kind of close the doors the bin, which is when the tubers experience the most moisture loss.and check the storage occasionally If you bring in potatoes with high pulp temperatures, you will need to remove that field heat as soon as possible, Olsen says. This helps in disease controland hope for the best. But the and to minimize higher shrinkage due to warmer temperatures.Heat needs to bemore time a person can spend controlled and pile temperatures equilibrated with ventilation, she says, and themanaging the environment the appropriate humidity is required to minimize the vapor pressure deficit between the air and the potato. potatoes are in, the better the Strive for high humidity but not to the point where water condenses basedoutcome is going to be in the end. upon temperature differences within the pile. Any time there is condensation or free moisture in the pile, there is a greater risk for disease, says Olsen. MARLON KUHLKuhl believes that as long as theres no disease in the pile, relative humidity in storage should be kept at 98 or 99 per cent for table crops and about 95 per centto ensure your fry quality and your chemical maturity are where you think they for processing potatoes.should be, and then make good temperature decisions based on that.Kuhl adds if any disease or rotting tubers are observed in the pile, its a goodIts easy to kind of close the doors and check the storage occasionally and idea to reduce the relative humidity to help dry down the potatoes. The point is tohope for the best. But the more time a person can spend managing the environ-try and dry out those parts of the pile and get that under control.ment the potatoes are in, the better the outcome is going to be in the end.VanderZaag says there are lots of ways technology is being used these days to EYE AND NOSE TEST enable growers to monitor storage conditions remotely, but he believes theres no According to Kuhl, one of the keys to making good storage decisions is keeping areal substitute for the eye and nose test for detecting rotting or diseased potatoes close eye on the crop. in the pile.The biggest thing is to be in your storage regularly, know what quality youYou cannot replace the nose. To me, this is crucial, he says. VanderZaag think you put in there but also be monitoring your quality throughout the season,recommends growers or their staff visit their potato storage bins at least every two says Kuhl. or three days to check for any suspicious smells or visible signs that could spell If thats chipping potatoes, for example, you want to be doing regular samplestrouble. 26 SPUDSMART.COM FALL 2019'