About 60 percent of the potato growers use some type of mechanical method. The most common mechanical vine killing method is rolling. It is most effective if used just before chemical application. Rolling is not recommended as the sole treatment. The next most popular mechanical method is vine flailing or chopping.
Vine pulling is used in a few cases.
Paraquat can be used as a vine desiccant only for potatoes that are processed immediately after harvest. Diquat is a relatively new herbicide for Idaho vine killing, while endothall has been used for several years on a limited basis. The latter is the slowest acting of all presently used chemicals. Rate of vine killing varies with the chemical. The ranking of herbicides from most rapid to slowest for vine desiccation in southeastern Idaho experiments was sulfuric acid, diquat and endothall.