Harvest and Storage of Potato

Potatoes should be harvested at maturity, that is, most of the stems and leaves turn yellow, the lower leaves dry, the color of the tuber changes from light to dark, and it is suitable to harvest when it is easy to fall off from the stolon. Harvest should choose sunny days, if the rainy season needs to dry in the plot for a few days, the soil moisture can not be pinched and harvested. Harvest hoe dig from both sides of the ridge to avoid digging rotten tubers, especially those with large tubers. The vines of the plant can be cut off before harvest. In the process of digging, picking, handling and stacking, strive to reduce the mechanical damage of tubers. If you keep your own seed potatoes, separate the big and small potatoes and pack them separately when picking them up. Pay attention to the weather changes during the harvest and avoid tubers getting caught in the rain, resulting in rotten potatoes. The dug tubers are spread out in the ground and dried for several hours. after the skin is dry, the soil is separated from the tubers, and then bagged and transported away, which can heal the wounds of the tuber epidermis and reduce the entrainment of soil and debris.

The reasons for the continuous loss of tubers after harvest are: mechanical damage, physiological changes within the tuber, damage by saprophytic organic matter and diseases and insect pests, inappropriate temperature and humidity. Therefore, edible potato should be stored at a temperature above 10 ℃ without light, and seed potato should be stored at 1-3 ℃ and relative humidity of about 90%, which is the most suitable for storage without light. The indoor storage method in Weixin County is to put the dried potatoes on the dry and ventilated ground, on the floor or on the bamboo floor, with a thickness of 20-50 cm, turn it every other month, change the upper and lower positions, reduce the indoor temperature, and remove rotten potatoes, the storage effect is better. Gao Juan