Incidence of mechanical injury to potatoes during certain storage-related handling operations in the Red River Valley production area

Injury to potatoes during three commercial harvesting and bin-filling operations in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota averaged 46.9%. The varieties Norchip, Kennebec, and Viking averaged 24.1, 64.5, and 73.2% respectively in these observations. The Kennebec potatoes, which had the most injury at bin filling, had the least decay at the end of the storage period. Loss of weight during storage averaged 2.04, 2.33 and 1.75 g/kg of potatoes per week, respectively for the Norchip, Kennebec and Viking tubers. During bulk scoop operations none of the factors: type of bucket, condition of pile, or operating speed significantly influenced handling damage.