Prince Edward Island potato farmers fight rot in storage due to sugar ends

Some farmers on P.E.I. are dealing with the problem of potatoes rotting in storage this winter and growers in the western part of the province are especially hard hit.

Vernon Campbell's warehouse in Graham's Road, east of Kensington, is piled high with 6-million pounds of russet burbank potatoes that are scheduled to be processed into french fries in July.

But Campbell isn't sure they're going to keep that long. There's a rotten spot in the middle of the pile he's trying to keep from spreading.

"Potatoes are like apples. One bad apple in a barrel can spoil so many more. And with a pile 20 feet high, a little problem can become a big problem in a very short time,"he said.

Campbell said the issue is something they call sugar ends or jelly ends — soft ends on the potato that can rot.

The condition, which was caused by last summer's extremely hot, dry conditions, followed by record rains in September meant russet burbanks grew disproportionately quickly, he said.