Bruising sensitivity at harvest

Overall the results from three years have shown that in some varieties there is a definite risk of more bruising from soils that are dry at haulm destruction. The magnitude of the effect varied with variety and was most noticeable with Maris Piper and Lady Rosetta.

There was a consistent trend of low levels of bruising at defoliation and large increases in bruising at harvest three to five weeks after defoliation. The factors underlying this increase in bruising susceptibility were not identified.