A number of potato growers from Flevoland have set up a study group together with Omnivent, on the storage of chips potatoes. Cor van Maanen and Nik Grubben, Head of Research & Development at Omnivent, guide the growers. Nik Grubben also holds a doctorate in storage conditions in bulk storage.
“The process storage of chips potatoes involves a lot of work,” says Cor. “From first drying to cooling, storage until the moment they are sent to the customer. Germ inhibition has also become an important item for us due to the disappearance of CIPC, which means that we have to use new methods to prevent germination. At the moment I do not have the experience with what the best method is. During storage, all growers in the study group use the Omnicuro storage computer. This allows us to set the process of storing our potatoes, such as drying, cooling and storage.
“Every season is a challenge. You do your best to harvest the potatoes with good quality and then you want to store them neatly with as little storage losses as possible. When delivering the potatoes you want to have good quality for the buyer. ”
The Omniscale is placed in the middle of the storage of chips potatoes when the potatoes are stored. The box on the scale can hold about 20 kg of potatoes. The Omniscale is then connected to the Omnicuro storage computer. In addition to the existing sensors (temperature) that the storage already has, extra sensors such as an RH meter (humidity) and a CO2 meter will be installed. The degree of the amount of CO2 in a storage determines the baking quality of the chips potatoes. The higher this is, the more chance of a deviation in baking color of the chips to be purchased by the customer.
“In addition to the digital scales, we also place net bags at different heights with about 20 kg of potatoes per bag divided between the potatoes in storage. This also allows us to measure the differences in weight loss at the top, middle and bottom of the potatoes. When the potatoes are delivered, they are taken out and weighed. When all the potatoes have been delivered to the participants of the study group, we will compare the figures. Nik will then have collected and analyzed all the data from the growers. In this way, we are working together to gain a better insight into the storage of chips potatoes. Omnivent can use the acquired knowledge and practical experiences to improve and optimize the current storage system and as further development for new systems. The more we measure, the more we know. ”
To gain even more insight into possible storage of chips potatoes losses, Omnivent has made an Omniscale available for the growers in the study group. “With the Omniscale that is connected directly to the Omnicuro storage computer, I can see in real-time what the percentage of weight loss is during the storage season. In the study group, we compare these values during the season. We also look at how the ventilation is and whether there is a connection with the percentage of weight loss. ”
