Can Spuds get scab while they are in storeage?

[bilmac]

Taters are vulnerable to scab in my garden, but I have a strain of reds that I have been growing that resisted it pretty good. I dug s bunch this fall and I thought they were pretty clear of it. I stored them in a cool spot in my loading room in burlap bags. It's too dry in there for ideal storage, but it's the best I can do for awhile. Now almost every one I peel has some pretty nasty scab. I find it hard to imagine that they are getting scabby as I store them.

As an aside, momma got one of those ceramic blade potato peelers as a bonus for buying the knife. If you see one for sale snap it up, It is the slickest peeler I have ever used. It cuts the skin off my scabby spuds just smooth as a whistle.

[longwinters]

I've bought spuds from the store, from a local potato farm and have started growing my own.  But have never had a problem with scab.  But doing some reading I have found that the best way to store them, for prolonged periods, is to spread them out, keep in a dark area with temps around 45.
 
Here is some other info on scab.  Hope it is of some help....there must be something that can be done about scab or potato farmers would eventually get it in their fields and be in big trouble.
 
Control: Plant resistant varieties whenever possible. We suggest using the russet-skinned varieties, since they have more resistance to the disease. Rotate root crops by planting in alternate locations to limit this disease. Potato scab is most prevalent in dry, alkaline soils. Decrease soil pH by adding elemental sulfur. The disease is controlled or greatly suppressed at soil pH levels of 5.2 or lower. Keeping soil moist during early tuber development may have a dramatic effect on common scab infection. Maintain proper soil moisture for about 2 weeks after the plants emerge from the soil. Avoid overwatering.

Long

[bilmac]

Like I said, I thought they looked pretty good when I put them in the sacks, it seems like they got scabby after I dug them. I know I am storeing them wrong, they need way more humidity, maybe by next winter I'll have a proper cellar.

[longwinters]

I'd love to have a root cellar.  I guess all the houses around here used to have something like that in the basements.  None do now to my knowledge.  I live in town so to build one outside would probably be against code.
 
Next time I buy potatoes from the farmer I am going to ask how they keep disease out of their fields and out of their storage as they keep potatoes til spring.
 
Long

[JBlk]

If you are using green manure on your potato patch it will case the spuds to scab.I expect that you can find the answer to your problem by just typing in that question of what causes potatoes to scab and hit enter.

[bilmac]

Perhaps so, I think I know what causes it in the garden and I have kind of cured my problem there, this is more of a weird problem that probably occurs very rarely and I will probably only get antidoctal answers. I should probably go to a gardening site where there are more contributors that grow taters. But, then I am constantly amazed at what the folks who post on Greybeard know.