Articles
The sprout suppressive effect of SmartBlock, an emerging sprout suppressant, on two potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars
Article number
1391_105
Pages
787 – 794
Language
English
Abstract
Potatoes are one of the major food crops in the world, with yield increases that happen every year.
Post-harvest, potatoes can be stored for up to medium but not long-term due to their short shelf-life.
This limits the opportunity to exploit distant export markets as they can sprout in transit.
Therefore, it is important to extend their shelf-life.
Previous studies have shown that to solve the sprouting issue, different sprout suppressant chemicals can be applied.
The current research focused on testing an emerging sprout suppressant, SmartBlock, to observe its effect on two potato cultivars.
To fulfil this aim, sprouted potatoes of Mondial and Sifra were treated with one or two applications of 0.1 and 0.135 mL kg‑1 SmartBlock separately and stored in the dark for 10 weeks.
During storage, weight loss, sprout features, firmness and respiration rate were recorded weekly.
The experiment was conducted on Sifra and Mondial potatoes with 1.1-1.3 and 0.1-0.5 cm sprouts, respectively.
SmartBlock reduced sprout length significantly (P<0.05) when applied at 0.135 mL kg‑1 than at 0.1 mL kg‑1. While differences in weight loss and the number of sprouts were largely dosage and cultivar-dependent, potatoes treated with 2 SmartBlock applications showed a slower development in sprout length regardless of the dose.
They had sprouts that were 0.5 cm shorter than the control in Mondial and 0.1-0.2 cm shorter in Sifra. All potatoes of Sifra stopped extending length after 14 days and developed branched sprouts with burns at the tips from the 0.135 mL kg‑1 × 2 dosage compared to the others.
Post-harvest, potatoes can be stored for up to medium but not long-term due to their short shelf-life.
This limits the opportunity to exploit distant export markets as they can sprout in transit.
Therefore, it is important to extend their shelf-life.
Previous studies have shown that to solve the sprouting issue, different sprout suppressant chemicals can be applied.
The current research focused on testing an emerging sprout suppressant, SmartBlock, to observe its effect on two potato cultivars.
To fulfil this aim, sprouted potatoes of Mondial and Sifra were treated with one or two applications of 0.1 and 0.135 mL kg‑1 SmartBlock separately and stored in the dark for 10 weeks.
During storage, weight loss, sprout features, firmness and respiration rate were recorded weekly.
The experiment was conducted on Sifra and Mondial potatoes with 1.1-1.3 and 0.1-0.5 cm sprouts, respectively.
SmartBlock reduced sprout length significantly (P<0.05) when applied at 0.135 mL kg‑1 than at 0.1 mL kg‑1. While differences in weight loss and the number of sprouts were largely dosage and cultivar-dependent, potatoes treated with 2 SmartBlock applications showed a slower development in sprout length regardless of the dose.
They had sprouts that were 0.5 cm shorter than the control in Mondial and 0.1-0.2 cm shorter in Sifra. All potatoes of Sifra stopped extending length after 14 days and developed branched sprouts with burns at the tips from the 0.135 mL kg‑1 × 2 dosage compared to the others.
Authors
C. Makofane, N.Z. Ngobese
Keywords
Chlorpropham, Mondial, respiration, Sifra, SmartBlock, sprout suppressant
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