Plenty to consider when storing potatoes

Cooling a potato too quickly increases the stress on the potato, increases moisture loss and wasting energy.

Tolsma Australia storage principles automatically monitor and control storage conditions to reduce storage loss and save on running costs by following these three storage phases.

Phase 1- Skin setting / drying

THE aim of the skin setting phase is to dry the outer skin of the potatoes and create and even temperature in a store.

This is achieved by circulating air above 12 deg C round the store with the correct air flow and speed. This air movement heals the damage caused by harvesting and dry's wet potatoes and rotten tubers.

Another important reason for this phase is that potatoes are dug at different times of the day meaning that they come into the store at different temperatures and moisture levels.

These temperature differences cause condensation, similar to the effects of taking a cold glass out of the fridge.

To overcome this, a set volume of air per meter square of product needs to be circulated through the product to equalize the temperature in the room and minimize condensation.

Potatoes respire at different rates depending on their temperature which has a negative effect on potatoes.

Therefore, it is important to regularly refresh a store. A Tolsma solution automatically monitors CO2 levels and refreshes automatically.

Phase 2 - Cooling down

COOLING down slowly minimise moisture loss and reduces stress on the potato.

A potato is 80 per cent water and Tolsma aims to cool the room with ambient air when possible to keep as much water in the product as possible.

When the system runs in the store, growers will have noticed water running out of the evaporator during cooling, this is because nature is trying to balance the moisture difference between the cold air blowing through the room and the potatoes.

The cold air is taking moisture out of the potatoes, equalising the moisture content difference between the air and the potatoes.

If the temperature difference is minimised between the cooling air and the potatoes then less moisture is removed from the potato, which reduces the stress on the potato and as a result, increasing profits.

Phase 3 - Storage

FOR the best results during this phase it is important to know exactly what is happening in a store.

Tolsma achieves this by having a number of product temperature and humidity sensors throughout the store to monitor temperature variation.

This allows the grower to maintain a stable temperature in the store by adjusting cooling and ventilation setting as required.

Ideally, the aim is to keep temperature differences in a store within 1 deg C to minimise chances of condensation and to eliminate temperature fluctuation which leads to sprouting.

Tolsma's storage solutions enable users to successfully store potatoes for up to 10 months, maintain quality, reduce storage losses and reduce running costs saving money simply by following these storage phases.

To find out more, contact Tolmsa's storage specialist on 0434 774 430.