The use of CIPC vapour to control sprouting in commercial potato stores

Until its final use in October 2020, CIPC was the most important sprout suppressant used in GB potato stores. Because of its importance, AHDB Potatoes funded a programme of research on CIPC covering the efficiency of application, its uniformity of distribution in stores, residue removal and alternatives to CIPC.

This project followed earlier AHDB Potatoes-funded projects that had investigated the potential for using CIPC vapour for sprout control. The results had indicated that residues tended to be lower and more evenly distributed than residues from conventional CIPC fog application. Further work was required to identify the most effective CIPC source materials for the release of vapour. Studies of the redistribution of CIPC vapour and the movement of vapour through stores were also carried out. The project demonstrated that there was scope for the treatment of stored potatoes using CIPC in the vapour phase alone.

To develop a range of CIPC vapour sources and to assess their efficacy in small scale trials.