ABSTRACT
Potato (Solarium tuberosum L.) is of paramount importance worldwide. The planet's potato crop ranks fourth after rice, wheat, and maize (Horton and Sawyer 1985). About 50 percent of the US crop is mainly processed into French fries and chips (USDA statistics). Potatoes are stored for con siderable lengths of time, usually at 8-15°C, both to prevent seasonal gluts and to ensure their availability throughout the year (Jadhav et al. 1991). During storage at these temperatures, however, potatoes sprout. In addition, their processing quality decreases because of the increase in reducing sugars due to senescence (Burton 1969). Sprouting greatly di minishes the storage life of potatoes. The breaking of tuber dormancy varies with the cultivar and season. It usually occurs between 6 and 12 weeks after harvest (Hemberg 1985). At present, sprouting is controlled chemically with a mixture of propham (isopropyl-N-phenylcarbamateIPC) and chloropham (chloroisopropyl-N-phenyl carbamate-CIPC) (Corsini et al. 1978; Mondy et al. 1978). These chemicals are considered a health hazard and in some European countries their use is restricted. In view of the enormous economic and nutritional significance of potatoes, it is clear that nonchemical control of sprouting is of great significance to the potato industry.
