Martin Lishman’s TuberLog Plus electronic potato now provides instant alerts of problems on harvesting, grading and washing lines, thanks to a new app that can be loaded on to a smartphone or tablet.

The device measures the shock loadings it is subjected to as it passes along the line with the crop. It instantly transmits this information to the phone, so operators can accurately identify the location and severity of the shock and decide whether remedial work is needed.

Operators can select their own reporting thresholds, so small shocks show up as a green alert, intermediate ones as orange and severe ones as red. Each alert is accompanied by a different audible alarm.

It is fully waterproof, so it can be run through washing facilities. It also measures the temperature, which can show up a tendency to bruise in some potato varieties.

“This new version of the electronic potato measures shocks very accurately, enabling operators to assess how serious the problem is,” says Lishman’s managing director, Dr Gavin Lishman. “This will help them decide how much remedial work to potato handling machinery is needed and – after it has been applied – test whether the work has been totally effective.”

“We believe TuberLog Plus will help reduce the level of bruising and lost income caused by damage during handling, while also saving a lot of disruption and time by accurately and quickly identifying the location and severity of the problem”.

TuberLog Plus, equipped with the app to communicate in real-time with a Bluetooth-enabled android device, costs £1,295. The standard TuberLog, which measures the same information but downloads it to a PC via a USB cable, wireless or Bluetooth connection, costs £995.