Drying tests with washed late-crop potatoes in the Red River Valley, 1950 and 1951

Conclusions

These tests involving 11 lots of potatoes during a 2-year period, indicate that drying Red River Valley storage potatoes after they are washed for market is not necessary except possibly for some lots affected with late blight or other decays. Potatoes from 1 lot had an appreciable amount of late blight rot on arrival when not dried, but very little when dried with warm air. Weight loss and in some cases sprouting were greater in the dried than in non-dried potatoes. Transit temperatures of the dried potatoes were higher because of the initial higher temperature.

These experiments were conducted under relatively dry atmospheric conditions. It is entirely possible that similar results would not have been obtained under more humid conditions. It should also be pointed out that these tests were conducted with storage potatoes and that similar results would not necessarily have been obtained with early-crop potatoes.