Pre Harvesting Care

Pre-Harvesting Guidance This stage focuses on ensuring tuber maturity, skin toughness, and safety before lifting. Monitor Maturity: Determine the harvest time when the foliage naturally turns yellow and starts to die back (depending on the variety, usually 80-120 days after planting). The skin of the tuber should be tough and not rub off easily (skin set test). Haulm Killing (Dehaulming): Perform haulm killing (cutting off the above-ground foliage or using a desiccant chemical like Diquat) 7 to 10 days before the planned harvest date. Rationale: This process stops tuber growth, prevents pathogens from moving from the leaves to the tubers, and forces the tuber skin to set (cure/toughen), which is crucial for storage and transport. Irrigation Cut-off: Stop all irrigation at least 1-2 weeks before haulm killing. Rationale: This allows the soil to dry out to an optimal level, reducing tuber damage during digging, promoting skin set, and preventing clods from sticking to the tubers. Adhere to PHI: Strictly ensure the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI) has passed for any fungicide or insecticide applied in the late season. Test Digging: Perform a small test dig a few days before large-scale harvest to check for the optimal size, yield, and skin set. If the skin easily peels off, delay harvest for a few more days.