The Effects of Irradiation and Chemical Sprout Suppressants on Stored Potatoes

[摘要] This thesis contains a description and discussion of work carried out to investigate the use of irradiation as a means of inhibiting the sprouting of potatoes during extended storage. In particular some emphasis was put on a comparison between irradiation and the chemical treatments currently used for the control of potato sprouting. In Chapter 2 the relationship between irradiation dose and the degree of sprout inhibition observed was investigated. The logistic regression technique and linear regression of the square root of the percentage sprouting by weight were found to be useful in modelling the dose-inhibition relationship for two cultivars, cv. Record and cv. Desiree. Irradiation treatment has been shown to cause increases in the free sugar contents of potatoes. This is of concern as the processing of potatoes with high free sugar contents results in low quality products. In Chapter 3 a storage experiment was carried out to compare the free sugar contents of irradiated and chemically treated potatoes. The initially high levels of reducing sugars and sucrose observed in irradiated potatoes when compared to controls fell gradually during storage. After approximately 5 months storage at 8

[发布机构] University:University of Glasgow

[关键词] Plant sciences