Protect damaged seed potatoes during storage

Once again there is a prolonged drought. This results in more hard clods in the harvested product flow and a greater chance of damaged seed potatoes. "Storage diseases such as fusarium then easily strike in storage," says Fokke Smit of Certis Belchim. "A treatment with Diabolo during storage there is less chance of diseases in storage."

Harvesting during drought increases the risk of tuber damage
Cork-dry ridges and clouds of dust around the potato harvester have become more the rule than the exception in seed potato harvest in recent years, according to Smit in almost all of the Netherlands. He sees the consequences of this in many places during storage. There pass the necessary tubers on the unloading line with considerably damaged skin due to hard clods in the product flow and a lack of sieved soil on the harvesting mats. "Such wounds form entry ports for fusarium. It comes from the soil along with the tubers during storage. Where the skin is missing, spores can easily penetrate and sometimes affect the seed potatoes considerably later in the storage period."

You do not want that as a seed potato grower and the buyer is certainly not waiting for this. Not every variety is equally sensitive to the aforementioned fungal diseases, but seed potato trading houses know exactly what the sensitive varieties are. They usually recommend a storage treatment for this." Diabolo contains the active ingredient imazalil, which has a broad and effective effect against storage diseases. With dry seed potatoes brought in, it is mainly about tackling silver scurf and fusarium, but the conditions are wet between leaf death and harvesting. then phoma can also hit hard, says Smit.  

Ensure good distribution
When the seed potatoes arrive under the described dry conditions, it is advisable to apply Diabolo immediately upon storage. This is only allowed for seed potatoes that are used as starting material, emphasizes the cultivation advisor. "Treated seed potatoes, such as any under or oversize, may not be used for human or animal consumption." For this reason, growers choose to pre-sort the field crop before storing. Smit: "It is important for Diabolo to work properly that the agent is distributed as much as possible around the tuber. This can be done by using a good nebulizer, such as Potatocare, Mafex and Pieperdoes.

For optimum results, nebulization over a roller conveyor is best. Due to the transport on a roller conveyor, the seed potatoes rotate completely around their axis during the treatment and the product is neatly distributed around the tuber, is the practical experience. The recommended dose is 150 milliliters per ton of seed potatoes. At this dosage, the agent works optimally and protects the seed pods against silver scurf, fusarium and phoma." Smit also gives a tip to apply the agent sufficiently diluted, preferably 1,5 liters per ton of spray liquid. This also contributes to an optimal coverage.

Follow all storage advice
The care for the seed does not stop after treatment, especially when the tubers are damaged. Smit urges growers to follow all the usual storage recommendations, such as first drying the product well for optimal wound healing and only then cooling it back to the desired tuber temperature for long storage. "Growers should definitely not forget this manual." Keeping the storage temperature constant afterwards is also an important weapon against storage diseases.