Potato Sprout Inhibition and Tuber Quality after Post-Harvest Treatment with Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) Leaves and Branches

Abstract

Storage of potatoes is one of the most important concerns in maintaining freshness and nutritional quality in the storage process. To achieve this, an experiment was carried out with five different storage conditions at various temperatures using fresh rosemary leaves and branches with three replicates. The results revealed that storage of potatoes at 25°C with rosemary leaves and branches resulted in the lowest sprout development and weight loss after 10 weeks. This was significantly different from either 4°C or 30°C. The findings indicated the potential of rosemary fresh leaves and branches to improve potato storage life considering its simplicity and efficacy in decreasing the storage cost, the weight loss and sprouting without causing any environmental toxicity. In addition, the potential of rosemary could be used to other fruits and vegetables to investigate further the possible role of rosemary application to prevent fungal rot.

Physical Methods of Pre-Planting and Postharvest Treatment of Potato: A Review

“…The recommended gamma irradiation dose for sprout suppression varies from 40 ... 50 Gy to 120 ... 150 Gy [43][44][45][46][47]. The dose sufficient for sprout inhibition is apparently cultivar specific.…”

“…Dhali et al [47] showed that 150 Gy 15 DAH resulted in less sugar accumulation during 2 months of storage rather than treatment 30 DAH. Rezaee et al [45] demonstrated that the later the treatment (10, 30 and 50 DAH were compared), the more sugar is accumulated after 5 months of storage both at +8 °С and +16 °С. After 120 days of storage tubers irradiated 5 DAH contained less reducing sugars than that 30 DAH [50].…”

“…Treatment at low dose (40 Gy) on 6 DAH inhibits sprouting stronger and does not accompanied with shriveling compared to treatment on day 30 after harvest; treatment at both 80 and 120 Gy 5 and 30 DAH showed good tuber appearance [50]. Rezaee et al [45] showed that treatment 10 DAH totally inhibits sprouting at 100 Gy; the irradiation dose for treatment 30 and 50 DAH should be raised up to 150 Gy. Dhali et al [47] observed that weight loss of tubers irradiated 15 DAH is less than 30 DAH (150 Gy, 2 month of storage).…”

“…Dhali et al [47] showed that tubers exposed to 150 Gy and subsequently stored at +6 °С for 2 months contained more sugars compared to +15 °С. Rezaee et al [45] found that tubers irradiated at 100 Gy and subsequently stored at +8 °С accumulated more sugars than that at +16 °С. Ezekiel et al [52] demonstrated the response to the storage temperature was cultivar specific: cv.…”

“…Kufri Chandramukhi by 15% (150 Gy, 90 days of storage). Rezaee et al [45] suggests that less sugar content at higher storage temperature may be due to higher respiration rates. In addition, temperature influences weight loss: weight loss was higher if tubers were stored at +16 °С than at +8 °С (100 Gy, 5 months of storage); these losses can be compensated by dose increase to 150 Gy.…”