EFFECT OF GROWING SEASON ON CHIPPING QUALITY OF POTATOES UNDER SUB-TROPICAL CLIMATES

Abstract

Four potato cultivars were grown as early, main and spring season crops at Modipuram (west-central Indian plains) to investigate the impact of growing season on chipping quality of the tuber. There was significant interaction between genotype and growing season irrespective of the maturity of the crop. Minimum mean values of reducing sugar (< 0.03%) and sucrose (< 0.2%) contents were obtained in the early planted crop, while maximum in spring crop (> 0.1% and > 0.4%, respectively), whereas the mean chip colour scores were acceptable in early and main seasons. Though reducing sugar contents, in general, increased in spring crop, a marked decrease was registered in cv. Kufri Jyoti when compared to main crop. The reducing sugar to sucrose ratio was lowest in early-planted crop. The cultivar Kufri Chipsona-2 accumulated the highest dry matter in the early crop of 75 days compared to the other three cultivars. The study emphasizes the need for evaluating the chipping potential of a cultivar according to its specific seasonal requirements, so that industry can get good quality freshly harvested raw material for most part of the year in relatively warmer sub-tropical regions.