Preventing sprouts and sprouts when storing potatoes? Extend dormancy with the tips of storage specialist Henk Tebben of EQUANS Refrigeration.
Open hatches only in suitable outside air conditions
"Storing germ-free potatoes This means that as a grower you can control the temperature and moisture content in the potatoes at all times. This is easier said than done in air-cooled storage. As a grower you need cold air to regulate the temperature in the storage area, especially in mild winters. If the outside air temperature is higher than the product temperature, ventilation is pointless. The higher outside air temperature stimulates the activity in the potato, increasing the chance of germs. It is therefore important to open the hatches only during drying if the outside air temperature is colder than the product temperature. Be careful though: if the potato cools down too far and a period of warmer weather follows, you can no longer ventilate without undesired effects on your product. Think of temperature fluctuations and activity due to the oxygen-rich air."
Cool mechanical
"Actually, cooling with outside air throws the chance of a controlled drying and storage process. Certainly because the weather conditions nowadays differ from day to day. That is why we say EQUANS: opt for mechanical cooling. Cooling is in any case the most effective means of preventing germ formation, because it ensures stable conditions. Moreover, you no longer need outside air. The mechanical cooling provides a constant temperature, humidity and CO2value that is tailored to the cooling demand of the potato. These stable storage conditions are a requirement to stop all activity in the tuber and to put the potato in a comatose state. As a result, less germination occurs during storage."
Use natural sprout inhibitors if necessary
"Thanks to more control in a mechanical preservation As a grower, you can store any potato variety for a long time and germ-free. I speak to clients who still deliver quality products in July or August, without using sprout inhibitors. Although it is not necessarily necessary with mechanical storage, growers can still rely on natural sprout inhibitors. Because the storage is completely closed, less of it is needed than in a storage with outside air. For growers who want to use as few sprout inhibitors as possible in their storage, an EQUANS mechanical storage installation is therefore a godsend."
Knowing more? Go to potato storage.nl of contact storage specialist Henk Tebben of EQUANS Refrigeration.