Post-Harvest Physiology of Potato Tubers

Abstract

Potato is one of the most widely consumed staple food crop throughout the world with high nutritional value due to its high content in vitamins, minerals, high quality protein and numerous bioactive compounds. Despite being less perishable than fresh vegetable products, the marketing needs and consumer demands for all year round supply, as well as the increasing needs for transportation of products to long distances, necessitate the storage of tubers for mid or long time periods. However, potato tubers are living organs with unique morphology and physiology that differentiates them from seed grains and pulses, and vegetables. Therefore, knowning the main physiological processes of potato tubers after harvesting allows to further understand their response to storage conditions and most importantly to minimize post-harvest losses and retain product quality according to marketing standards. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to present the storage condition requirements depending on the end use of the final product and how these conditions may affect the quality of tubers during and after storage. A special section is focused on the physiological processes that take place after harvesting of tubers, focusing on tuber dormancy and sprouting and how they are regulated by storage conditions but also from pre-harvesting conditions. Moreover, hormones and genes that regulate tuber physiology, as well as the main physiological disorders that occur during storage are also highlighted. Finally, a brief description of storage facilities is also presented along with storage recommendations for the various end products of potato value chain. © 2021 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.