Welcome to the Living Dictionary of the Potato Industry – a long-term reference project curated and compiled by Lukie Pieterse, Editor and Publisher of Potato News Today, to help potato people speak the same language across the crop’s full value chain.
The Dictionary launches with 800 core terms (100 per section). This is the foundation – new entries will be added and existing entries refined as terminology, standards, and practice continue to evolve across the potato sector.
Potatoes sit at the intersection of biology, technology, logistics, food safety, regulation, and market pressure – and each part of the industry has developed its own shorthand over decades. The result is that the same word can mean slightly different things to a grower, a storage manager, a processor, a seed inspector, or a buyer. This Dictionary is designed to reduce that friction by providing clear, practical definitions that work in real-world potato contexts.
This is not intended to be a static glossary or a definitive piece of work. It is designed to evolve – reflecting new science, changing standards, emerging pests and diseases, new storage and processing practices, and the fast-moving language around sustainability, data, and assurance. New entries will be added over time, and existing entries will be refined as terminology shifts, or where regional usage differs.
Each entry follows the same consistent structure so readers can quickly find what they need and understand how a term is used in practice:
- Plain meaning
- Technical definition
- Why it matters in potatoes
- Where used
- Common confusions
- Related terms to support
Browse the Dictionary by section
To keep the Dictionary digestible and easy to navigate, entries are organized into eight main sections. Use the links below to jump directly to the area most relevant to your work:
- Production and Agronomy
- Storage and Postharvest
- Seed and Breeding
- Processing and Product Quality
- Markets and Trade
- Pests, Diseases, and Crop Protection
- Sustainability and Assurance
- Technology and Data in Potatoes
(Tip: You can also use your browser’s search function – Ctrl + F on Windows or Command + F on Mac – to find terms quickly on any page.)
Built for everyday use – from field to factory to marketplace
This Dictionary is meant to be practical. It should help with onboarding and training, troubleshooting conversations, interpreting standards and buyer requirements, and reducing misunderstanding between different roles in the industry. It is also intended to support readers who are new to the potato sector – including students, interns, and new staff in operations, QA, agronomy, and procurement.
Suggest a term or flag a common confusion
Because this is a living resource, input from the industry is welcome. If there’s a term you believe should be included – or a definition that should be clarified because of regional usage or common misunderstanding – you’re invited to reach out to Lukie. Over time, the goal is for this Dictionary to become a shared reference point for the global potato community, grounded in technical accuracy but written in plain, usable language.
How to cite this Dictionary
If you would like to cite or reference a term from the Living Dictionary of the Potato Industry, please use a simple citation format that credits the curator/compiler and includes the access date (since entries can evolve over time). For example:
- Living Dictionary of the Potato Industry, curated and compiled by Lukie Pieterse (Editor and Publisher, Potato News Today), “Term Name” entry, accessed Month Day, Year.
If you want to be even more specific, you can also include the section name (example: Storage and Postharvest) and the direct link to the page where the entry appears.
Get in touch
You are welcome to reach out to Lukie on lukie@potatonewstoday.com or lukie5555@gmail.com with questions, concerns, corrections, or with suggestions for additional terms you’d like us to include in any of the sections of the Dictionary.
