Pathological

Post-harvest losses in potatoes caused by pathogens are greater than the losses due to physiological causes. Physical damage to tubers during harvesting and handling predispose tubers to attack by bacteria and fungi making it vulnerable to many storage diseases like late blight, dry rot, pink rot and soft rot. When infection occurs in the field, rotting begins in the field and continues during storage. When infection occurs after harvesting, it is generally through mechanical injury as in the case of dry rot. High humidity and condensation of water on tuber surface can lead to infection by soft rot causing bacteria Erwinia spp. Among the insect pests, tuber moth causes maximum damage during storage and is common in potatoes stored under higher temperatures, as is the case with non-refrigerated storage.

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