A P R I L 2 0 1 8 POTATO GROWER 21 of $8,300.00 for each grower. University of Maine studies show the amount of potato bruising in moving potatoes from ground to storage bin from hopper truck was 11 percent in 1992 and averaged nine percent for the past five years, with 30 percent solely attributed to truck loading and unloading opera- tions. Combining bruise damage from harvesting with bruise damage from truck hauling from storage bins, the total amount of bruise damage is more than 15 percent of the original crop. Hallee said some of their original tests have been conducted this win- ter and further testing will be done in the next harvest season. “Based on the properties it has, this foam liner should help consider- ably,” he said. “The use we’re look- ing at is to pad the bulk bodies of the truck so that when they load potatoes off the harvester booms, you won’t get bruising. It would also have applications any other places where padding is needed.” The product has thus far been tested using an instrument impact sphere which measures accelerations of the impact of drops. The impact test was first done to determine the thick- ness of the padding that would be most effective. This was determined to be 3/4 inches. The liners have also been applied to a truck body from a participating Maine potato grower’s operation and testing is currently being done to determine impact results from potatoes being transported from storage. These tests have not yet been completed. Also, further test- ing will be done during the next harvest season. Company information from New England Foam Products shows pre- liminary test results with an 80 per- cent reduction in G forces through impact absorption. This would gen- erate a sharp corresponding reduc- tion in potato bruising. This reduc- tion results in G forces below the bruise threshold established through research at Washington State University, thus making NoBruze protective padding eco- nomically viable.