There is a new project, set up by a consortium of sector groups and experts, to help potato growers fine-tune storage practices. UK growers are being encouraged to sign up to the project, which is based on the Strategic Potato (SPot) Farms model run by AHDB Potatoes, prior to its demise. It has been launched by a consortium of GB Potatoes, storage specialist Adrian Cunnington of Potato Storage Insight and agronomist Simon Faulkner from SDF Agriculture.
According to the consortium, there is a lack of practical research in storage and limited funding available for any R&D at the moment. Cunnington: "We believe that practical activity will help growers better understand how to refine their own storage facilities’ performance. Working together to build better practice will help improve returns as we will be monitoring costs such as energy. These trials will demonstrate the contrasts of what can happen with a range of varieties subjected to different strategies, and with some of the currently available sprout suppressants.”
“To be sustainable and make a realistic margin, potato stores need to be profitable, so tuber quality needs to be good and costs transparent and controlled. Seeing things done in a commercial set-up helps our hosts and partners share experiences with visitors who can then go home and confidently apply them in their own stores.”
Source: farminguk.com