STORABILITY AND SPROUTING BEHAVIOUR OF MICRO-TUBERS OF SOME INDIAN POTATO CULTIVARS

Abstract

Storability and sprouting behaviour of four grades of micro- tubers (large, medium, small and micro-tubers with burst lenticels) from six Indian potato cultivars was studied under following storage regime: refrigerated (4°C) conditions for 3 months followed by 2-week storage at 22±2°C and 2-weeks under ambient conditions (about 18°C). It was found that viability, sprouting percent; number of sprouts per micro-tuber as well as physiological loss in weight were affected significantly by the genotypes as well as by the size and physiological stage of micro-tubers. Increasing size of the micro-tuber resulted in a significant increase in the viability and sprouting ability of micro-tubers with reduced durations of dormancy and weight loss at the end of storage. Micro-tubers with burst lenticels were the least storable due to the weight loss and poor sprouting. The proportion of viable micro-tubers was the highest in Kufri Badshah (68.4%), followed by Kufri Surya and Kufri Bahar, whereas, percent sprouting was maximum (>96%) in Kufri Bahar and Kufri Badshah, closely followed by Kufri Anand and minimum in Kufri Pukhraj (81.6%). Dormancy duration varied between 99 days (Kufri Pukhraj) to 114 days (Kufri Chipsona 1). The best results were achieved by Kufri Badshah, whereas, Kufri Pukhraj showed the poorest storability with maximum loss in weight and viability of micro-tubers during storage.