Potato stores can be dirty and dusty places, with fungal spores, which are key pathogens affecting tubers, resting on walls, ledges and within the roof space. Potato boxes can also be a source of inoculum ahead of receiving the new season’s crop, as Aleksandra Cupriak reports in an article published by Farmers Guide in the UK.
Frontier potato storage treatment specialist, Darren Wonnacott, said that basic hygiene practices essential for every store are a thorough sweeping and hoovering of all accessible areas.
What he describes as the “cherry on the cake” is a Jet 5 (peroxyacetic acid) treatment applied as a wet fog, but few businesses are taking advantage of its effectiveness at preventing the spread of disease.
He added: “The mist generated by the fogging machine carries that disinfectant into all the nooks and crannies, and once up into the roof space, it settles on top of those dirty, hard to reach places.”
SAC Consulting’s potato specialist, Kyran Maloney, who carried out spore viability assays for Frontier after fogging stores with Jet 5, said that results showed significant reductions. The expert said that it is particularly useful against skin spot, which has smaller spores than other storage diseases and can evade basic measures such as brushing and hoovering.
Source: Farmers Guide. Read the full story here
Image: Credit Aleksandra Cupriak / Farmers Guide
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