Potato packing app manages potato deliveries, washing, sorting, packing, and potato sales (bulk and packed bags). Deduct tare of potato deliveries, pack potatoes to order, and manage potato logistics... Pack from bins, direct from trailer, or from bulk potato storage rooms/silos.
Advanced potato storage features let you know exactly how much bulk potato inventory you have, its age, and the supplier & traceability details, quality, grade, and class.
Potato packing: We understand your businesses and have been supporting potato packing businesses since 2001.
Manage the entire potato packing process from delivery, processing (sizing, sorting, French fries manufacture, grading and packing) thru to to sales, dispatch, and traceability & recall.
Potato packing app manages potato deliveries, washing, sorting, packing, and potato sales (bulk and packed bags). Deduct tare of potato deliveries, pack potatoes to order, and manage potato logistics...
Potato packing by farmsoft for less waste and better potato traceability in potato packing & processing space.
Manage potato packing process for any packaging type including net bags, jute bags, film bags, woven bags, paper bags, trays, transport packaging and FIBC’s / Big Bags, 1 ton totes and more.
The most usual way to find potatoes is in bags and net sacks, thanks to the wide variety of packing machines that do this work. Among this type of packages there are the tubular mesh sacks of 1 and 2,5 kg and mesh sacks " Girsac" with an external string that acts as a label and as handles, with a capacity of 2 kg. This way of dispatching potatoes is understood as prepackaging, since the buyer must only choose the mesh or bag he prefers. Other materials used for these packages are plastic bags (perforated) or paper bags, used for small quantities: 2.5 (for plastic), 5,10,15 and 25 kg (for paper).
Another way to dispatch potatoes is in bulk; they usually come in sewn net sacks with a capacity superior to 5,10 and 25 kg, and they will be available for the consumer as free service.
Other packages used are cardboard and wood boxes.
Among the cardboard packages we find 6kg packages with a base of 500 xs 300 millimeters, trays covered with net for 2.5kg, 5kg boxes with lateral plastic holes to see the product and superior opening where the fingers are introduced to make manipulation easier, and also 12kg boxes.
Research has been carried out to package potatoes in thermoplastic, checking the good results in quality conservation. Nevertheless, it is a very expensive system for such a low price product as the potato is.
Potato packing process:
The farmsoft solution supports many potato packing processes and can be configured to support any potato packing business. Here is an example process used in farmsoft potato packing: In the early days potatoes were bulked in giant heaps and packed into 4 stone bags using pikes. Most if not all potatoes were packed without washing and sold loose by weight in shops.
Today, potato packing is very different. Harvested potatoes are stored in dark refrigerated warehouses at temperatures between 20 and 40C. When required for packing batches are removed from cold storage and warmed up to 80C to avoid bruising under the skin during processing.
Our fully automated washing and packing lines use leading edge technology to wash, grade and pack our potatoes. We have the capability to pack to any size in paper bags, plastic film and now paper-laminate and microwavable materials.
Create Purchase Orders to order raw materials (potato), or receive potato deliveries from your own farms without needing an order (if the potatoes are coming from your own farm, optionally issue barcodes to give to harvesting teams or potato truck driver, this barcode can be scanned and will identify a potato delivery upon arrival at the potato packing facility).
Record your customers potato orders (optionally allow customers to order potatoes online using the shop, or B2B portal)
Receive bulk potato deliveries (eg: entire truck load of potatoes, not bagged or packed in any way) and store in silos or bags, traceability is fully maintained from the instant you receive the potato inventory, to post sales auditing and mock recalls. During the potato delivery, the entire potato truck is usually weighed, then weighed again after the potatoes are unloaded, farmsoft will then calculate the net weight of potatoes, and issue a delivery receipt to the truck driver stating Gross potato weight, Truck weight, Net weight. The potato delivery receipt can also be automatically emailed to the supplier.
Perform a quality check during the potato delivery process to determine waste % or dockage and any contaminants, more advanced potato quality control can also be performed (eg: specific gravity, and potato fry tests).
Optionally pack potatoes in batches: If you choose to use batch based packing, you can record potato packaging materials used in each batch (give you better potato recall and traceability), record the potato packing labor used (gives you better potato packing cost analysis), and allows packing to specific potato orders.
Optionally process potatoes into value added products like IQF potato fries, potato salad, dehydrated potato products and more. Ask about our optional manufacturing module for advanced potato processing.
Report rapidly on the total potato inventory stored in the potato pack house, including off-site storage locations
Processing potato: Clean, sort, perform safety scanning (x-ray, magnetic) on potato inventory
Store cleaned sorted potato for later processing or packing
Bulk load trucks directly for bulk potato sales, potato products sold by weight, and by unit (eg: for packed potato products).
Pack potato into any packing type (eg: poly bags, bulk totes, RPC's and more)
The potato sales & picking process tells shipping teams exactly which potatoes should be shipped to which customer, and even tells them physically where to find the exact potato inventory.
Generate reports that give you all the information you need for auditing and recalls of potato inventory.
Packaging Potatoes
In an effort to meet changing consumer demands and lifestyles, L&M Cos. is expanding its microwaveable potatoes to include sweet potatoes, and has introduced new packaging for their microwaveable russet potatoes.
The company saw consumer trends and interests moving in a new direction, toward a more “down-home” lifestyle, and the packaging of the Russet potatoes is a reflection of that simpler time, sporting graphics featuring children playing in farm fields, and innovative cooking ideas consumers can use to have more home-cooked meals. It is all part of a marketing plan featuring products that reach out to consumers who want that quieter lifestyle.
“It connects with the values the consumers are used to, really a back-to-basics living, and our packaging reflects that,” said Glen Reynolds, L&M business management director for potatoes and onions. “We think the design and packaging really hit the mark in graphic design and attributes.”
Like their Russet counterparts, the sweet potatoes are individually wrapped in plastic and double washed prior to packaging. Minimal preparations are needed for consumption, and they can be used both as a lunch item or side item for dinner.
“They’re a perfect size for a quick lunch, and they’re also tailored for a quick grab-and-go type dinner or as a side dish,” Reynolds said.
Fresh produce is a staple for the Raleigh, N.C.-based grower and packer, but the company has been eyeing the value-added market for years, monitoring consumer trends and habits prior to releasing the microwaveable Russet potatoes more than five years ago. The company also studied consumer trends prior to releasing the new packaging for the Russet potatoes. The microwaveable sweet potatoes were unveiled at the Southeast Produce Council Expo in Tampa, Fla., with a positive response from retailers.
“As a company, we are always looking for new, unique packaging, and new ways to attract consumers, and we have been looking at these products for about a year,” Reynolds, said. “We’ve had very good response from the retail segment.”
The potatoes are available to retailers in 40-lb. boxes, typically in 70 to 80 count sizes.
Russet potatoes and sweet potatoes are key commodities for the company. Russet potatoes are one of the farm’s original crops, dating back to the mid-1960s. The commodity has increased to an average of 9,000 acres each year on L&M farms across the United States. Sweet potatoes have been a relatively new addition to their list of products only in the past 10 years.
Demand for sweet potatoes has been growing, however, and the demand for both sweet and Russet potatoes has led to dramatic increases in acreage for both crops. That demand has led to an expansion far outside North Carolina’s borders, with farms in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Maine, Washington and Idaho, even as far west as California. The farm also has international operations in Mexico, as well as Central and South America.
With so many diverse growing locations, L&M Co. holds a unique position to offer every potato variety available on the market, varieties that are grown in every potato-growing region in the United States. That offers L&M the opportunity to market potatoes year-round.
“Russet potatoes and sweet potatoes are a very large part of our product line, and we ship a full variety of produce,” Reynolds said. “We are one of a few farms who grow every season of potatoes, and we grow them as they rotate around the growing season.”
The acreage increase has been fueled by an increase in demand for potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, as consumers are increasingly turning to them for their health benefits. Home consumption has seen dramatic increases in recent years, with the average consumer using potatoes at least once during a two-week period, and more than a third of home-cooked meals containing potatoes, Reynolds said. That demand increase was echoed by Tracy Fowler, L&M’s general manager for potatoes and onions.
“Demand by customers for sweet potatoes has increased the last two years. It seems to be a hot commodity, and it seems to be in demand for export, as well,” Fowler said.
L&M Co. markets the Russet potatoes and sweet potatoes to retail and foodservice outlets, and has facilities across the United States to meet that demand. Processing centers include North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, California and Washington. Most of the products offered are through the farms, though the company does contract with third-party growers to meet demand, on an as-needed basis.
The L&M facilities are also able to process and market produce for growers who may not have that capacity.
“We contract with other growers to help fill our supply needs. In some cases, we have packing houses and infrastructure in place, and we’ll assist other growers in getting their product to market,” Reynolds said.
The microwaveable potatoes are only the latest in a line of products and innovations the company is exploring to address changing consumer demands and trends, and it’s a direction the company believes is the future of the produce market.
“We saw an opportunity to offer microwaveable baked potatoes, and it just seemed like a natural fit to get the products to market quickly in a growing consumer segment,” Reynolds said.
We will interview your team to custom design the best potato management solution for your business.
We have done this before many times, but we want to know exactly how YOU would like your farmsoft solution to work. Here's how your potato solution project will work:
Interview with a solution consultant so we can understand how your potato business operates now, and how you want your potato business to work when the farmsoft potato solution is implemented. Often these can be very different. We also ask detailed questions about how you want your documents such as potato delivery receipt, BOL, dispatch docket, invoices, and potato labels (pallet, tote, crate, bag) to look.
A quick meeting to show you the settings in your app, and how to maintain them yourself in the future if you sell new products for example. We will have entered almost all of your settings for you.
Your consultant will then present you with proposed operational processes for your potato processing business. This may happen a few times because we will respond to your feedback and re-work the solution to your satisfaction.
Your approved operational processes for your potato packing business will then be deployed one by one into your live business. We provide simple, written instructions you can show each team member so they don't need to remember anything or write anything down.
Review! Once you deploy the processes, we can have another review to see if there are any tweaks that would help improve your potato handling processes.
Why use the farmsoft potato packing solution?
Using the farmsoft solution, your potato packing business will reduce waste business wide
Better accuracy of potato inventory management helps make shipments & orders 100% accurate
Packing to order becomes very accurate, reducing production errors
Reduce administration burden and streamline operations (automatic receipts, labels, BOL, invoice)
Reduce potato handling compliance cost & effort.
Mondi and Silbo create paper-based potato packaging
Global packaging and paper manufacturer Mondi has partnered with Polish compostable packaging producer SILBO to develop paper-based packaging for potatoes.
Mondi
Mondi collaborated with Silbo to develop the packaging for Meade Farm Group. Credit: Mondi.
Created for Irish farm potato business Meade Farm Group, the packaging has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
The packaging is the result of close collaboration between the three companies over a period of two years.
It uses Mondi’s speciality kraft paper and biodegradable Sustainex coating, water-based ink and corn starch-based netting.
The bag is designed to maintain strength when handling while providing barrier properties to keep the produce fresh. It has so far been launched in Ireland, Poland, France and Germany.
Mondi Poland extrusion solutions and speciality kraft paper sales manager Jan Murzyn said: “The bags need to withstand very heavy weights while providing a solution that is kinder to the planet.
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“Our EcoSolutions approach means we work very closely with our customers to reach their sustainability goals and create a bespoke solution that represents the best possible option for the customer, the consumer and the environment.”
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SILBO business development manager Marcin Śpiewok said: “The hybrid solution combines the excellent strength of speciality kraft paper and the tailor-made barrier and heat-sealing properties of compostable materials.
“Mondi’s speciality kraft paper in combination with our net, water-based print and unique technology was a long-sought solution in the food industry and allowed us to substitute the conventional combination of plastic and mesh.
“We created the worldwide first compostable form-fill-and-seal potato bag with net window to deliver strong, durable, breathable, eco-friendly packaging for Meade.”
The solution will enable Meade to replace hard-to-recycle plastic with paper in line with its sustainability targets.
The company aims to make its product packaging reusable, recyclable, renewable or compostable wherever possible.
Meade sustainability manager Jeni Meade said: “This new potato bag is an excellent example and was integral in our winning the Best Sustainable Packaging Strategy at the Green Food and Beverage Awards.
“By changing from the previous plastic pillow pack to this bag, we completely eliminated hard-to-recycle plastic.
“In addition, when compared to a traditional block bottom paper bag of similar size, our compostable paper pillow pack reduces the paper usage by 34%.
“As a food producer, our company focuses on supplying the best-tasting potatoes to our customers, and as a packaging user, we are committed to reducing the climate impact of our packaging for the wellbeing of the planet.”
In January, Mondi developed sustainable packaging for Norwegian branded consumer goods company Orkla.
The packaging solutions were for the Swedish launch of Orkla’s Frankful Tex Mex range of plant-based tortilla wraps, tortilla crisps and taco spices.
We are experts in the potato packing and processing space, and have performed multiple solution deployments in potato packing, potato processing, potato storage, and potato wholesaling companies in USA, Canada, and Australia.
Potato packaging types:
Paper, plastic or mesh bags are all options for the potato buyer, distributor or warehouse to select their choice.
Paper used to be prevalent in the days when everyone bought 10-20-50 pounds of potatoes at a time but mostly went away because of two reasons. One if the bag broke, they had to be placed in another container. This was especially a problem if the bag was moist. Secondly customers could not see the potatoes inside.
Mesh and a combination of mesh and plastic was still the preferred method for the seventies to nineties and some grocery chains, especially in the Northeast still request them. These were typically orange or purple and partially protected the potatoes from turning green due to light while on display.
Plastic, most often with holes, has become the dominant method now. Some are clear and some have a brownish tan tint. It allows for better graphics, printing the nutrition chart on each bag.
Potato packing
Sorting, grading, packing machines and complete equipment for potato processing.
Greater quality for your business.
Potato packing
Potato packing
The greater the accuracy of quality selection, the greater the future of your business.
Unisorting Potatoes Sort 3 technology, used in sorting and grading lines, enables you to select the desirable and undesirable characteristics of any kind of potato.
For each of these varieties of potatoes, Potatoes Sort 3 can accurately select and classify the quality:
size and shape
external defects or skin defects
Unisorting Potatoes Sort 3 system accurately classifies the various qualities of each potato and this allows the various valued characteristics for each type and variety of potato to be divided precisely.
For every variety of potato, Unisorting has developed a totally dedicated specialist software, in order to offer high-performance solutions to every single requirement.
Potato packing
Potato packing
Potato technologies. More high-performance, more efficient, more gentle: automatic packing.
Innovation for potatoes is good for business.
Potatoes are tubers. They contain potassium, vitamin B and C and complex carbohydrates.
Until a few years ago, potatoes were processed in systems that used only mechanical machines.
Today, using automatic grading and sorting machines with innovative electronic technologies, we can classify the desirable and undesirable characteristics of each type of potato more reliably than in the past, in addition to the classic sorting function.
Potato packing
Potato packing
Automating potato processing promises to bear great fruit.
Designs and develops individual machines and complete lines for processing, from tipping to packing.
In this way, every Packing House with potato processing automation in its future can count on Unisorting’s great experience for a more effective solution, to greatly reduce costs and to present the market with a well sorted, well selected product, classified by quality too.
In short, to improve and provide a future for its business.
Where traceability and reliability go hand in hand.
Systems and equipment can be provided with a traceability system, which can interface with the Packing House management software.
The fruits can be traced from the feeding stage on the lines up to the packing stage, with packing and labeling of the packages that will be delivered to the market.
For traceability, ask us.
Doing things the right way always increases peace of mind and the growth of your business.
Potato packing
Potato packing
Having farmsoft as your only supplier means being able to meet your Customers’ needs with reliability and top quality.
Ddesigns and produces machines that carry out every stage of potato processing: emptying, washing, brushing, alignment, grading, sorting, internal and external quality selection, packing, palletization, pallet strapping and traceability.
We like to take 101% responsibility. Our technologies are designed and produced exclusively by Unisorting and this allows our customers, in case of specific market requirements or irregular production of fruit, to reprogram the systems and permit continued operation with perfect efficiency.
This is possible when customers trust Unisorting to be their only supplier for every system requirement.
This is the only way your business can safely proceed towards success.
Complete packing solutions for packing potatoes
Everyone who has ever bought potatoes in a supermarket knows that you can get potato packaging in every shape and size. Small packages, large packages, from pillow bags to doy-style packages and tray packaging - everything is possible. JASA, therefore, has a perfect solution for every packaging question.
aardappelen verpakken
Potato packaging in every size
A few years ago the packages containing 5 to 10 kilograms of potatoes were very popular. Now we see a shift towards the packages containing 300 gram to 1.5 kilograms of potatoes. “Nowadays there are more different kinds of potatoes available. Older potatoes varieties are making a comeback”, Piet Pannekeet, founder of JASA, explains. “Because of that, the consumers are eating a larger variety of potatoes and therefore are buying smaller packages.” To meet the demands of the market, JASA is offering complete packaging solutions and packaging lines for all types of potatoes.
“You will see potatoes in a wide range of different packages”, Piet Pannekeet explains. “Some are packed in a plastic bag, while others are packed in a plastic sealed cardboard tray. For years these two ways were the norm to pack potatoes, but now we can replace the plastic packaging with paper: Bag-2-Paper™.”
Complete solutions to pack potatoes
JASA offers complete packaging solutions for unprocessed potatoes, from sorting machines to the outfeed belt. “Depending on the wishes of the customer, we can make a fully automated line.”
Through an industrial weigher, the sorted potatoes are weighed in exact portions. After that, the portions are packed in their respective packages. Through the outfeed belt, they are transported to the case packers or baler before they are shipped to the supermarkets and consumers.
Optical sorting machine for potatoes
To supply the best potatoes to the consumers, the potatoes are sorted by size and quality before they enter the packing line. JASA also offers solutions for this situation. Not only does the Newtec Celox machine sort the potatoes by size but it also scans the potatoes for quality. With the help of cameras, the potatoes are then analyzed before they are sorted accordingly. This process is incredibly fast and very accurate.
aardappelen optisch sorteren
Potato packing solutions
There are so many possibilities. Therefore, it’s really helpful if someone helps you find the right solution. Not only are there a number of ways to pack potatoes, but there are also a number of methods to keep the potatoes fresh in their packaging. This helps give the potatoes a longer shelf life but also keeps them good after purchase. The longer the potatoes stay fresh, the less it will produce food waste. “JASA can help to come up with the perfect solution for our customers”, Piet Pannekeet explains. “It all depends on whether you are packing processed or unprocessed potatoes. With certain packaging techniques, we can create the most optimal conditions for the products. Together with the customers, we look at the wishes and the possibilities before creating a complete packaging line.”
Multifunctional lines for potato packing
Multifunctionality is an important part of the process for JASA and her customers. “We want to create flexible machines that offer several packaging solutions. We want to make sure that our machines have a very short changeover time. We can also add a bypass to the line. This gives our customers the option to pack the potatoes in both trays and bags at the same time, increasing the packaging capacity per minute. Depending on the chosen options, our lines can process 25-100 packages per minute.”
Sustainable packing of potatoes
There are a few factors involved when choosing your new packaging solution. The first factor is to create a good work environment. We need to decide which machines need to be included and how we can optimize the complete packaging line. The next thing we will look at is which packages the customer wants to create and how can we make sure that the potatoes will be packed in the right conditions. The flexibility of the machine also plays a part in choosing the right machine. On top of that, sustainable packaging also plays a large role in the choice of the correct packaging solution.
With a focus on less plastic packaging, less environmental pollution, and more sustainable solutions, there is a new kind of pressure on the packaging industry. That’s why JASA created Bag-2-Paper™. This new revolutionary paper packaging solution is for products such as unprocessed potatoes. The potatoes are packed in 100% paper* packages. These paper packages can be recycled with the rest of the papers.
aardappels verpakken
Sustainable tray packing for potatoes
Are you currently packing potatoes in a plastic sealed cardboard tray to keep the potatoes in place? We have a new sustainable solution for this too! Our new cardboard sleeve is a good alternative for the plastic packaging around the trays. The sleeve keeps the potatoes in place while keeping them visible at the same time. It’s the perfect solution for unprocessed potatoes. This will create a packaging solution that is 100% suitable for recycling.
duurzaam aardappelen verpakken
Looking for a complete solution to pack potatoes? Reach out to our sales team, they are always happy to advise you on the possibilities for you.
Packing: POTATO, SOLANUM TUBEROSUM / SOLANACEAE
The most usual way to find potatoes is in bags and net sacks, thanks to the wide variety of packing machines that do this work. Among this type of packages there are the tubular mesh sacks of 1 and 2,5 kg and mesh sacks " Girsac" with an external string that acts as a label and as handles, with a capacity of 2 kg. This way of dispatching potatoes is understood as prepackaging, since the buyer must only choose the mesh or bag he prefers. Other materials used for these packages are plastic bags (perforated) or paper bags, used for small quantities: 2.5 (for plastic), 5,10,15 and 25 kg (for paper).
Another way to dispatch potatoes is in bulk; they usually come in sewn net sacks with a capacity superior to 5,10 and 25 kg, and they will be available for the consumer as free service.
Other packages used are cardboard and wood boxes.
Among the cardboard packages we find 6kg packages with a base of 500 xs 300 millimeters, trays covered with net for 2.5kg, 5kg boxes with lateral plastic holes to see the product and superior opening where the fingers are introduced to make manipulation easier, and also 12kg boxes.
Research has been carried out to package potatoes in thermoplastic, checking the good results in quality conservation. Nevertheless, it is a very expensive system for such a low price product as the potato is.
Postharvest Potato Atmosphere Management
The main procedures after harvesting will be the curing, during which potatoes are put under temperatures around 20ºC to heal the injuries in the skin. They can also be put under cooling treatment, although it is not very usual. Potatoes intended for human consumption and stored for long periods of time will be put under chemical treatment in order to avoid sprouting and to prevent the attack of insects.
The behaviour of potatoes after harvesting will depend on the type of potato, whether it is early or late.
In the case of late varieties, potatoes must be regarded as an organ which has stopped growing, thus the activity of its metabolism will be low. Its skin has matured and therefore it will be less sensitive to the microorganisms attack, dehydration and mechanical damages. All the opposite in the case of early potatoes.
The postharvest actions that must be carried out are curing, precooling and treatments to avoid germination.
- the curing consists of submitting the recently harvested potatoes under high temperatures for a period so as to heal the harvesting damages. This process helps to the regeneration of the damaged skin. During the curing there is an important loss of water, although the beneficial effects are greater.
If the damages are healed, we prevent other types of diseases caused by microorganisms that penetrate through the open wounds.
The curing will take place at 15-20ºC, 85-90% relative humidity for 5 to 10 days. This can be also done at lower temperatures, 7-15ºC; it is a slower process, but there are less rots.
Relative humidity must be high, but one must avoid the appearance of free water films on the tuber, since that would stop the skin’s cellular regeneration and will favour the development of bacteria.
-precooling is not often applied to potatoes, since there are better results if temperatures are slowly reduced. Nevertheless, in exceptional warm temperatures periods, they use hydrocooling, that is to say, water cooling.
- treatments to prevent germination are applied on potatoes intended for fresh consumption after long time storages. These chemical treatments prevent sprouting and they can be done in the field, during the weeks previous to harvesting, or during the postharvest.
There is another irreversible way to inhibit germination, applying gamma rays. With this irradiation insects can also be controlled. However, the cost of the facilities and the consumer’s reluctance for ‘irradiated’ produce limits its use.
Potato handling:
Postharvest potato quality
They are many alterations in potatoes, from mechanical damages produced after the harvesting, sprouting, blight, the attack of insects and bacteria that cause rots, chilling injury, the presence of sweet flavours and the greening caused by light expositions.
- Mechanical damages
This phenomenon is more appreciable in early potatoes, since they are less protected. Peeling, bruises, cuts and breaks are the main damages, being sensitivity at its high degree when the potato’s temperature is low. The bruised tubers are removed from the rest, since they have a short conservation and they are easily attacked by microorganisms.
These damages may appear in any of the handling stages, since there is a high degree of mechanization.
- Black spots
They are the evidence of the tuber’s bad handling. This dark zone appears in the surface and deepens in the pulp. Sensitivity to this injury increases when the tubers are cold, reason why it is recommended not to harvest or handle in these conditions.
- Sprouting
The tubers sprouting proves that the period of maturation has finished. The buds reduce the produce commercial value and accelerates deterioration.
This phenomenon takes place at temperatures over 10ºC. Late varieties develop it 2 or 3 months after the harvesting even at 10ºC.
The good temperatures handling and the application of chemical produce that prevent sprouting are the tools to control this phenomenon.
- Blight
Also called tubercle wrinkling, it is caused by the loss of water, which is greater in immature tubers and increases with the presence of buds. High relative humidity reduces the effect of this alteration, whereas the application of wax coverings is ineffective. However, since humidity in these cases is next to saturation, one must avoid the formation of a water film that would make the attack of microorganisms easier.
Parasitical diseases:
1 Fungi diseases
- Dry rot or Fusarium wilt
It is caused by Fusarium solani. The symptoms are areas with firm, brown rots, spreaded along the tuber. The part affected is wrinkled, often with round folds, and on this area the white-pink fungus develops.
The damages make the fungus penetration much easier. In order to avoid these damages it is advisable to disinfect the premises and the machinery, and try to avoid mechanical damages to tubers.
- Gangrene
It is caused by several fungi belonging to the Phoma genus. It is the most important disease affecting the potatoes stored in many Spanish warehouses. The first symptoms are small areas, irregularly circular, which are dented and dark. In short time the areas enlarge, joining one to the others, and at the same time the crust wrinkles and dents a bit more; sometimes even some cracks appear. There are no circular folds nor fungi, as it happens with the fusarium wilt. The pulp has necrosis that can be removed.
- Pythium
It is known as " wet rot of the injured tubercles" and is caused by Pythium debaryanum and Pythium ultimum. The symptoms appear after the harvesting, in the surface of a damage. The first symptom is a watery spot with that grows quickly turning into a dark and humid spot. When it is pressed it seeps liquid. The tissues affected by this rotting stretch, giving place to splits from where the dark yellow liquid seeps.
- Silver scab
It originates in tubers that come from the field and it is caused by Helminthosporium solani. The symptoms are irregular zones of the bark with a slight colour alteration, becoming ash-coloured. With time, the spots are more evident and turn into pale gray.
- Stem rot and tubercles
It is caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. It does not develop until the tuber is in the warehouse. The symptoms are mainly placed in the insertion of the runner; it is a circular and irregular rot, the bark is slightly dented and eventually it tends to darken. The rotten tissues are easily removed, and this makes it easy to distinguish these potatoes from those affected by Fusarium.
- Stain in the skin
It is a very important alteration in places like Scotland, Ireland and Canada and it is caused by Oospora pustulans. They appear after a long period of time. First of all, a small protuberance develops to a dented zone with irregular edge and 2-3 millimeters of diameter; the central zone is lifted up. It gives rise to an irregular tuber with dented areas, wrinkled skin and cracks.
2 Bacterial
- Soft rots
They are produced by diverse bacteria. One of most important is Erwinia carotovora, which causes the loss of tissue consistency; sometimes it turns into pink and afterwards it darkens. In many cases these rots go along with characteristic but not unpleasant smells.
- Annular rot
It is caused by Clavibacter michiganense. This bacterium attacks in the field, and the symptoms are seen when the potato is cut cross-sectionally. In the beginning it is characterized by a slight transparency in the tissues that surround the vascular system; little by little the vascular ring underneath the skin turns into yellow, darkening and even separating from the adjacent tissues. Unless the tuber is cut, the disease is not detected in later stages. The disease is visible when there are external deformations and protuberances that split a viscous liquid when they are pressed.
3 Insects
- Potato moth
The larvae develop inside the potato, digging some galleries.
4 Sweet flavours
The main reserve substance in potatoes is the starch, and at environmental temperature the balance between starch and sugar favours the starches. The sugar accumulation comes along with low temperatures and the aging of the product. The minimum temperature for these symptoms to appear varies, but it takes place at temperatures below 10ºC, reaching its maximum at 2 to 4ºC.
This phenomenon takes place because at low temperatures the respiration rate is very low; thus, the sugar from the starch is not consumed; it is accumulated in the tuber conferring a sweet flavour. In order to avoid this phenomenon, storage temperatures are usually over 4ºC.
5 Chilling injury
Some varieties suffer from browning when they are stored at 0-2ºC.
6 Pressure lesion
Found in the potatoes placed in the inferior layers of the storage piles, and it is characterized by black spots developed where they touch with other tubers.
7- Greening
It is one of the main problems in the marketing stage and it is caused by the exposure of the tubers to light.The green colour is due to the formation of chlorophyll and to the solanine, another compound with bitter taste. It is toxic when it appears in great quantities.
The light of the fluorescent tubes used in the stores shelves cause a greater degree of greening than any other type of light. On the other side, the use of packages that protect products from the light has a drawback: the consumer cannot see the product’s qualities.
8- Others
Black core
It is characterized by the darkening inside the tubers, specially in their central area. It develops under conditions of scarce aeration and/or high temperatures.