POTATOES.NEWSGlobal potato industry intelligence11,640 stories
Electronic tubers that record every knock on a harvester or grading line give a clear picture of where damage starts. Research from Idaho and Poland shows that drop height and surface type matter most.
Weight loss in store is mostly water, and it is fastest in the first days after harvest. University of Idaho research shows why a few points of relative humidity are worth real money.
Soft rot bacteria live on most potato crops and wait for warmth, wounds and a lack of oxygen. Extension guidance explains which temperatures and handling steps turn a small problem into a wet store.
Silver scurf damages skin finish rather than yield, but it can ruin packing and washing grades. Extension advice links the disease to early lifting, fast cooling and control of condensation.
Dry rot enters through harvest wounds and grows slowly for months in store. Extension services in Idaho, New York and California describe the losses, the resistance problem and the steps that still work.
Two water-borne tuber rots can destroy a warm, wet harvest within days. Extension guidance from Maine and California sets the same simple harvest limit: tuber pulp below 65°F, or about 18°C.
Closed stores often hold ten times more carbon dioxide than outside air. Extension data show that CO2 alone may be tolerated, but together with traces of ethylene it darkens fry colour.
Mexican potato output has grown sevenfold since 1961, driven by irrigated farms in the northwest. Growers there now plan a cut in area after a poor winter season and weak prices.
The national agricultural survey puts the 2025 potato area at 2,243.3 hectares and the harvest at 36,151.1 tonnes. Potatoes and onions together take eight in ten hectares of the vegetables studied.
Official market data show large washed Loman potatoes at Q590 per quintal in mid-September. The monthly average is more than double last year, and the ministry links the rise to scarce rainfall.
The new marketing year began with higher export volumes. Fresh potato shipments abroad grew by almost a third, while frozen fry exports rose more slowly, according to an industry newsletter.
Potato growers in Michigan report good yields and chip quality. But supplies of chip potatoes are plentiful, and an industry newsletter expects significant cuts in contract volumes for 2027.
