A novel non-destructive solution to quantify and qualify potato crops during growth to realise maximum marketable yield and help to reduce waste - TUBERSCAN

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Determining the correct date on which to harvest potatoes is one of the most critical decisions potato growers must make. If they lift their potatoes too early, they may be below the optimum size resulting in less than the maximum potential output being produced, if they lift them too late, they may be too large to meet buyer specifications significantly devaluing them. Either way the grower loses potential income. Recent research carried out at Harper Adams University (HAU) has shown that it is possible to use new technologies to non-invasively measure the total biomass of potato tubers in the soil. Other ongoing research at the university has also shown that it could well be possible to process images of potato plants to accurately determine the number of tubers each potato plant will produce. The aim of this project is to develop and test an innovative prototype system to measure and map average potato sizes and potato biomass throughout fields. This will enable early interventions and/or selective harvesting to take place, thereby optimising crop yield and resource use. It is anticipated that this technology could generate an estimated 5 - 10% increase in UK marketable potato production at little or no extra cost, whilst assisting with reducing waste throughout the supply chain.