The Control of Branch Growth on Potato Tubers: II. THE PATTERN OF SPROUT GROWTH

SummaryTotal sprout length and the length of the longest sprout were shown to be the most universally useful measurements to estimate sprout development in batches of potato tubers. A good estimate of sprout weight was also derived from measurements of total sprout length. There was a good linear relationship between total sprout length and initial tuber weight but the relationship varied considerably with the time of measurement and the temperature of storage.It is suggested that if sprout measurements are to be used to predict the field performance of a batch of tubers the changing pattern of sprout vigour with time needs to be more closely understood.

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Effect of Low Levels of Ethylene on Sprouting of Potatoes in Storage

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.39.1.136 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 136-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

R.B.H. Wills ◽

M.A. Warton ◽

J.K. Kim

Keyword(s):

Solanum Tuberosum ◽

Potato Tubers ◽

Ethylene Concentration ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Low Levels ◽

Sprout Growth

Potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum cv. Sebago) were stored at 20 °C in air containing ethylene at <0.005, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, or 10 μL·L-1 and the level of sprouting was measured over 35 days. The time for tubers to develop an average of one sprout per tuber was found to linearly increase as the log10 ethylene concentration decreased with the effect present over the whole range of concentration. After 35 days of storage, the number of sprouts/tuber was inversely related to the ethylene concentration, but the weight of sprouts was only lower for tubers held in <0.005 μL·L-1 ethylene. The more numerous sprouts on tubers held in 10 μL·L-1 ethylene were short and thick, while the less numerous sprouts on tubers in 0.01-1.0 μL·L-1 were long, thin, and branched, and resulted in no significant difference in total sprout weight between these concentrations. Reducing the concentration of ethylene in the atmosphere around stored potatoes thus reduced sprouting, but levels <0.01 μL·L-1 are required to minimize both sprout emergence and sprout growth.

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Changes in respiratory metabolism during sprouting of aged seed-potato tubers

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b90-208 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 68 (8) ◽

pp. 1619-1626 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Loretta J. Mikitzel ◽

N. Richard Knowles

Keyword(s):

Seed Potato ◽

Respiratory Activity ◽

Potato Tubers ◽

Alternative Respiration ◽

Fresh Weight ◽

Alternative Pathways ◽

Aged Seed ◽

Study Interval ◽

Young Tuber ◽

Sprout Growth

Seed-potato tubers stored for more than 8 months lose apical dominance and sprout with reduced vigor compared with younger tubers. To determine if age-reduced vigor is associated with less efficient respiratory activity, contributions of the different modes of respiration were measured in tissue from 7- and 19-month-old tubers at 6-day intervals over an 18-day sprouting period. Although respiration rate of tissue from the two tuber ages was equal at planting, it increased for both during sprouting, reaching a level 51% higher in tissue from old tubers by the end of the study. Tuber age and time had no effect on cytochrome-mediated respiration, which averaged 18 nmol O2/(min∙g fresh weight) over the study interval. However, the rate of alternative respiration of tissue from old tubers increased through day 12, reaching a level 30-fold greater than that of tissue from young tubers. As a percentage of total respiration, residual respiration was relatively constant (26%) in both ages of tissue during sprouting. In young tuber tissue, alternative respiration decreased from 9 to 1% of the total by day 12. Over the same period, the proportion of alternative respiration in old tissue increased from 14 to 28%, and this occurred with a concomitant decrease in the proportion of cytochrome-mediated respiration. During sprouting, old tubers appeared to be generating higher levels of ATP through a combination of the cytochrome-mediated and alternative pathways compared with young tubers; however, the increased energy-metabolizing ability of old seed tubers is less efficient at meeting the demands of sprout growth, as indicated by the lower weight of sprouts produced. Key words: potato, age-reduced vigor, respiration, sprouting.

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Evaluating Ecologically Acceptable Sprout Suppressants for Enhancing Dormancy and Potato Storability: A Review

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10112307 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2307

Author(s):

Nyasha Gumbo ◽

Lembe Samukelo Magwaza ◽

Nomali Ziphorah Ngobese

Keyword(s):

Tuber Quality ◽

Rapid Decline ◽

Potato Tubers ◽

Weight Changes ◽

Postharvest Storage ◽

Sprout Suppression ◽

Tuber Sprouting ◽

Sprout Growth ◽

Sprout Suppressants

Postharvest losses are a key stumbling block to long-term postharvest storage of potato tubers. Due to the high costs and lack of infrastructure associated with cold storage, this storage method is often not the most viable option. Hence, sprout suppressants are an appealing option. In most developing countries, potato tubers in postharvest storage are accompanied by a rapid decline in the potato tuber quality due to the physiological process of sprouting. It results in weight changes, increased respiration, and decreased nutritional quality. Therefore, proper management of sprouting is critical in potato storage. To avoid tuber sprouting, increased storage and transportation of potatoes demands either the retention of their dormant state or the application of sprout growth suppressants. This review evaluates the current understanding of the efficacy of different sprout suppressants on potato storability and the extension of potato shelf-life. We also consider the implications of varied study parameters, i.e., cultivar, temperature, and method of application, on the outcomes of sprout suppressant efficacies and how these limit the integration of efficient sprout suppression protocols.

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Control of sprout growth in the potato. Effect of humidity and water supply

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b84-292 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 62 (10) ◽

pp. 2140-2145 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gordon I. McIntyre ◽

William A. Quick

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Water Content ◽

Significant Interaction ◽

Growth Response ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Weight Basis ◽

Potato Tubers ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

External Water ◽

Sprout Growth

The growth of apical sprouts of potato tubers, var. Norland, kept in darkness at 15 °C, was significantly increased either by increasing the relative humidity (RH) from approximately 40 to 100% or by supplying water to the basal cut end of the tubers. These two treatments showed a significant interaction, the response to the external water supply being considerably greater at the higher RH. The growth response was closely correlated with increases in the dry weight and the water content of the sprouts, expressed on either a sprout or dry weight basis. The high RH plus water treatment also eliminated the inhibition of sprout growth by light, the length of the sprouts in this treatment being almost 160% greater than in the light at low RH and 60% greater than in the dark. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that when the tuber has no external supply of water, the growth of the sprouts is determined primarily by their water content, and thus by the effect and interaction of factors affecting the supply of water from the tuber and its rate of loss from the sprouts by transpiration.

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