b'Before harvest make sure vines are dessicated and pulp temperatures have cooled down to between 7 to 18 C.down below, ideally between 7 to 18 C or 45 toKeeping the tubers in storage about 12 C or 54 F 65 F. If the soil is dry and you have irrigation, Idfor seven to 10 days will promote wound healing certainly recommend you consider a pre-harvestand then we want to drop the storage tempera-watering to minimize lumps. And fewer lumps oftures down, keep them as low as possible. course will help avoid bruising the tubers during harvesting and subsequent handling both in andSS: What can you do to help potatoes out of storage. Wed like to see potato storage isin storage when you harvest them in cleaned and disinfected as well as the diggers andcold and wet conditions?handling equipment before theyre used.RH: To manage chilling and freezing injury As the tubers are coming into storage, we makereally starts in the spring with ensuring that you sure we grade out any damaged, decaying tubers.have properly formed hills that provides that That can be done sometimes in harvest or certainlyinsulating blanket to help protect the tubers prior to going into storage and thatll reduce thefrom freezing if thats a risk. Obviously, harvest load of inoculum.your tubers before severe frost. If youre digging Recently harvested tubers should be allowed toin cold weather or trucking, you obviously needA potato which has been damaged by frost. heal the wounds that build up that skin barrier.to protect the tubers against freezing and transitPHOTO: KHALIL I. AL-MUGHRABIFALL 2020 SPUDSMART.COM 51'