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WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 49 Plant with Confidence. promotes early root development, targets common scab, and suppresses verticillium wilt. www.TriEstAg.com For more information visit strikefumigants.com promotes early root development, targets promotes early root development, targets common scab, and suppresses verticillium wilt. promotes early root development, targets promotes early root development, targets Healthy Fields. Healthy Yields. 168273TriMfg12h.indd 1 9/18/17 3:43 PM separated them from highest to lowest and looked at the results. On average, there was about twice as much pressure flattening on samples from the lowest peak load fields compared to samples from the highest peak load fields. The height of the bulk stored potato pile is another important factor in the development of pressure flattening. Our results show that the peak load results were predictive of differences in pressure flattening even when samples were stored at different pile heights. At-harvest penetrometer testing was able to show differences among varieties as well as individual fields within each variety. In a situation where test results are similar to those shown in Figure 4, our research suggests that pressure flattening losses will be reduced if Gold Variety 3 is shipped first, followed by Gold Variety 1 and maybe some of the Gold Variety 2 fields such as 12 and 1. Fields 2, 3, 4, 10 and 14 from Gold Variety 2 should be among the last to be shipped unless disease pressure or skinning are worse in those fields. Based on the differences in the resulting pressure flattening between the groups of fields and cultivars arranged based on peak load values, it appears that use of penetrometer testing at harvest will identify the majority of potatoes that are likely to pressure flatten earlier in the storage season. Growers may also be able to use at- harvest penetrometer testing to adjust pile height for a new cultivar or a cultivar for which a grower is not aware of its pressure flattening susceptibility. Putting the penetrometer data together with other at-harvest observations on the disease, skinning and bruising factors will make it easier to determine the most profitable order to ship potatoes out of bulk storage. Figure 3. Comparison of pressure fl attened area after six months of storage based on at-harvest peak loads organized by quartile. Figure 4. Comparison of at-harvest peak loads of gold potato varieties harvested from different fi elds and stored in various bins