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Prepared on Monday, 1 September 2025, by Frank van der Linden (Senior agronomist/storage specialist at Omnivent)
At the start of the storage season, we publish our current advice for storing potatoes. Please note: this is general advice and based on the current conditions in Northwestern Europe. The content has been carefully compiled. However, results may vary depending on the specific conditions of your product and/or shortcomings in storage techniques. If in doubt, please contact us.
Check your storage computer before putting your potatoes in storage
Before loading, check that your storage computer is still functioning properly. It’s best to leave your Omnivent storage computer on at all times, but older models like the ACT-20 can sometimes display a timeout alarm after extended periods of inactivity.
In that case, go to section 00 ACT20 Terminal, page 2 Installation, line 15 Automatic clear timeout alarm, set value to on.
Using outside air for cooling and drying
It should be possible to cool and dry with outside air at night, and depending on the product temperature, also during the day. The minimum dew point difference can be set at -1°C, the minimum difference between outside and product at -1°C. The lowest dew point difference that is still drying is -0.5°C.
In recent days, the relative humidity (RH) and dew point outside have been such that drying opportunities are sometimes limited. Consider using a heater to lower the RH, allowing you to dry faster and longer.
An additional advantage is that the product temperature does not become too low, which means it is possible to dry longer with outside air.
If you don’t have mechanical cooling, try to lower the product temperature slowly so you don’t reach the final temperature too early. This should not be reached until early December.
Dry your potatoes as quickly as possible.
For potatoes, it’s important to dry them as quickly as possible. Any remaining moisture should be removed as quickly as possible. Damp soil and rotten tubers/bulbs should also be dried as quickly as possible to ensure long and trouble-free storage. Drying with outside air should be done with 100% ventilation capacity.
If it’s not possible to ventilate with outside air, ventilate internally. Keep in mind that this will only have a limited drying effect. If possible, choose a ventilation capacity of 60%.
What are the harvesting conditions for storing potatoes?
Good harvest quality
The field quality looks very good. The sector recommends haulm killing as soon as the criteria for size and dry matter content are met and as soon as available volumes are sufficient to cover the contracts. This allows for a comfortable harvest schedule and reduces the risk of unpredictable weather conditions in autumn. It also benefits soil quality, and enables the early sowing of follow-up and catch crops.
Ripe foliage
Due to their early planting date and drought stress, the potatoes in most fields are ripening well. Ripening potato foliage loses its vitality and is therefore susceptible to Alternaria solani. However, like potato blight, Alternaria requires sufficiently long periods of moisture to complete its disease cycle. Therefore, we are seeing the observed Alternaria infections spread only slowly.
As long as the foliage is still green, further protection against late blight and alternaria is necessary, otherwise leaf and tuber damage will occur.
Wound healing
Keep in mind that the minimum temperature for wound healing is 10°C. This process takes 10 to 14 days. At higher temperatures, wound healing proceeds more quickly, with a temperature between 12 and 15°C being ideal.
Settings per storage phase for potatoes
| Loading Manual control | Try to bring the product indoors as much as possible in 1 day to prevent temperature variations between batches. Any remaining moisture should be removed as quickly as possible through ventilation. Start ventilating immediately with fresh air and continue this for at least 5 hours a day. Use heaters to dry if necessary. Pay attention to the dew point difference. A minimum difference of -0.5°C is required for drying, meaning the outdoor dew point is lower than the product’s dew point. Set the temperature on the storage computer to -1°C; -2°C is ideal. |
| Warm up | Only necessary if the product temperature is too low. |
| Drying/wound healing (ACT) or Intensive drying (OmniCuro) | Set the minimum and maximum product temperature between 12-18 °C The ideal temperature is 15 °C, at this temperature wound healing takes about 7 days. Do you have a dry product with less than 2% rot? Then select the ‘Cool/Storage’ programme. Do you have wet soil or more than 2% rot? Activate the ‘Drying/Wound healing’ programme in ACT or the ‘Intensive drying’ programme in OmniCuro. In the Time Block settings, set the “Maximum time without ventilation” to 4:00 hours. Set the “Minimum valve position” to 20%. Set the desired product RH to 85%. Make sure that the “Minimum duct temperature” is at least 1 degree lower than the “Minimum desired duct temperature”. |
| After drying (no desired RH can be set here, but this is possible with Intensive drying) | This is a simpler, but also more restrictive, drying program. The desired starting duct temperature is 2°C higher than the starting temperature of the product. Preferably use the ‘Drying/Wound healing’ programme (on ACT) or ‘Intensive drying’ (on OmniCuro). |
| Cooling/storage | Once the product is thoroughly dry, you can begin the slow cooling process. If you can only cool with outside air, try to wait until early December to reach the desired final temperature. October often still has warm days. Lower the temperature by 0.5°C/day, for seed potatoes 0.3°C/day. Use the following values for Limit Values Setting (“Outside” page): Minimum temperature difference outside-product -1°C Min. dew point difference outside-product -1°C (possibly -0.5°C) Max. dew point difference outside product -15°C Stop internal ventilation if the delta temperature is below 1°C (Omnicuro “maximum temperature difference between sensors”). Set the “Maximum time without ventilation” to 24 hours. For ACT, set the desired RH to 0%. With the Omnicuro, no RH setting is required, unless an RH sensor is present. In that case, set it to 95%. |
Are you unsure about the conditions for storing your potatoes?
Don’t wait too long to ask for advice! Our storage specialist Frank van der Linden will be happy to help you. He can visit you to inspect your products and storage techniques and give you storage advice for your potatoes. You can receive a personal offer for a local visit (across the globe).
Please feel free to contact us by email at fvdl@omnivent.nl or call +31 36 – 521 8062.
Do you have any questions about your storage?
You may quickly find your answer at the FAQ.
Technical problem/malfunction
Are you experiencing a technical malfunction? That’s inconvenient! Fortunately, we are available by telephone 24/7 to assist you.
Cooling malfunction Tel. +31 (0)6 5342 1436
Other technical malfunction: Tel. +31 (0)6 5514 6609
Help with setting up your storage computer
Our regional managers or dealers are happy to assist you, including with questions about cooling and other technology in your storage facility:
United Kingdom
Ronnie Laing
T: +44 749 006 7458
E: rl@omnivent.com
Other regions
Contact your local representative, you find the contact details for each region on our contact page.
