Growers should be investing in the latest technology to automate their potato storage and maintain crop safety within the store.

Manual environmental control systems may still be popular, however, they compromise the crop, said Adrian Cunnington, head of Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research at the World Potato Congress. “We need to help people to improve their storage facilities through better knowledge transfer.

“We have huge potential to use knowledge based-systems, using weather data to predict when we can capture cold air into the store to reduce our reliance on refrigeration,” said Mr Cunnington.

“Smartphone apps will also have a role to allow store managers to access information remotely and allow much better management of ambient store temperature.”

Ventilation is also key, particularly in Europe, where stores tend not to be positively ventilated. “If we are going to get additional efficiencies we need to be forcing the air through the crop rather than just pushing it around,” said Mr Cunnington.

Stewardship

CIPC use for sprout suppression is now under strict stewardship controls to raise standards of practice and has resulted in a reduction of use by around 50%. Switching to stores that are positively ventilated will help optimise its use further.

“Without the correct ventilation, it is difficult to apply the chemical evenly, particularly when the potatoes are stored in boxes, so further efficiency can be made by investment in that area,” said Mr Cunningham.