Evaluation of post-harvesting behaviour and tuber organoleptic parameters of early maturing hybrids/varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Introduction

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) ranks as, one of the most important non-cereal tuber crops globally. It belongs to the family Solanaceae and valued for both high yield per unit area and adaptability under diverse agro-climate conditions. It is considered top most stable food crop in world, known for supplying energy along with several nutritional components as essential amino acids, high starch & dietary fibre content and fat at low concentration (Tatarowska et al. 2023) [16] In potato production, India ranks second just after China. India's potato production reached 58.57 million tonnes in the 2024-25 crop year (Anonymous, 2025) [3] . The potato majorly producing in Indian states are Uttar Pradesh > West Bengal > Bihar > Gujarat > Madhya Pradesh > Punjab > Haryana > Assam > Jharkhand > Chhattisgarh (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . In Madhya Pradesh, the crop covered 170 thousand ha area, with average production of 3.9 million t and average productivity of 23.0 t ha -1 (Anonymous, 2023) [1] . Beyond high production per unit area, potato is nutritionally staple food used and consumed by billions of humans worldwide. A raw potato contains about water (77.46 g/100g), fiber (2.20g/100g), protein (2.02 g/100g), energy (77 kcal/100g), rich source of vitamin-C, potassium, several vitamins-B and carbohydrate mainly in form of starch (Beals, 2019) [5] . Despite of its low protein content, potato protein has excellent (90-100) biological value (Camire et al., 2009) [6] . In potato production, post-harvest stage is as critical as its agronomic production. After harvesting as tubers remain living it undergo continue physiological changes during storage. The main cause of post-harvest deterioration is sprouting which reduce the marketable quality weight loss and accumulation of glycoalkaloids such as solanine and chaconine, alongside a decline in processing quality (Lohani et al., 2025) [13] followed by moisture loss and rotting (Kumar et al., 2024) [12] . Hence, evaluating the initial tuber number, tuber weight and sprouting percentage of early maturing hybrids/varieties is essential to assess their true storage ability.

Potato's market value not only depend on yield but the consumption quality (visual and sensory) of tubers that determined by the various traits viz. shape, skin color, flesh color, flesh score and eyes types (Arslanoğlu et al., 2011) [4] .These organoleptic descriptors viz. shape, skin color, flesh color, flesh score, and eye type, form the standard basis for varietal characterization and for its international registration by following IBPGR's minimum descriptor list for potato genetic resources (IBPGR, 1985). Therefore, in present study, evaluation of post-harvesting behaviour and tuber organoleptic parameters of early maturing hybrids/varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) provides essential baseline information for identifying genotypes that combine earliness with acceptable market and storage quality.

Materials and Method

During two consecutive Rabi seasons (2023-25), an experiment was conducted at Central Potato Research Station (CPRS), experimental area of ICAR field, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh at storage house. The experiment was laid out with 3 replications comprised of 33 total plots in Randomized Block Design. The 11 treatments consist 5 hybrids viz. P-68, P-79, P-89, P-97& P-105 and 6 varieties viz. Kufri Khyati-C-14, Kufri Pukhraj-C-17, Kufri Bahar -C-6, Kufri Badshah-C-5, Kufri Mohan-P-1 & Kufri Ganga-P-9. At physiological maturity, uniform and healthy tubers were harvested from each plot, air-dried after cleaning under the shade and stored in plastic crates under ambient conditions i.e. 25-30 °C of temperature and 70-80% of relative humidity. Healthy tubers selected per treatment, counted and recorded as initial number of tubers and weight as initial weight of tubers at storage and tubers showing visible bud sprout emergence were counted as sprouting (%).

With regard to shape, observed visually and shape of tuber recorded. Based on tuber skin characteristics, tubers of each treatment were noted by visual observation immediately after harvesting. Tubers from each treatment were cut into two halves and the assessment of the sample for flesh color was done visually according to the following (1 = White), (2 = Cream) and (3 = Yellow) as described by Wooster and Farooq, (1995) [17] . Tuber flesh color was scored by visual observation according to the following (1 = White), (2 = Cream), (3 = Yellow), (4 = Red) and (5 = Dark purple). For eye type of tuber, tubers from each treatment were observed carefully and their eye type visual observation Wooster and Farooq, (1995) [17] according to the following (1 = Very deep), (2 = Very deep to deep), (3 = Deep), (4 = Deep to medium), (5 = Medium), (6 = Medium to shallow), (7 = Shallow), (8 = Shallow to very shallow) and (9 = Very shallow) as described by (Wooster and Farooq, 1995) [17] . The data was analysed using MS-Excel and OPSTAT. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out at 0.05 level of significance for comparison suggested by Panse and Sukhatme, (2000) [14] .

Results and discussion

Initial number of tubers at storage at ambient temperature was recorded significantly highest in T 5 -P-105 (23.67), which was statistically at par with T 6 -C-14, T 7 -C-17, T 11 -P-9, T 9 -C-5, T 10 -P-1, T 1 -P-68 and T 4 -P-97 (23.17, 23.17, 22.83, 22.33, 22.00, 21.17 and 21.17, respectively). The lowest initial number of tubers at storage at ambient temperature was recorded in T 2 -P-79 (20.17).

Similarly, the initial tuber weight (2.01 kg) remained statistically uniform across all treatments. The non-significant variation at the commencement of storage might be attributed to uniform harvesting stage, grading and pre-storage handling, which minimized genotypic differences immediately after harvest. Initial tuber number showed comparatively greater variability while initial tuber weight remained uniform across genotypes due to the standardized sampling protocol typically employed for storage studies. Wherein a fixed, predetermined quantity of tuber material by weight is uniformly allocated to each treatment for storage evaluation. These findings are in close conformity with the results reported by Deora et al. (2025) [8] , who observed nonsignificant differences in initial tuber number and weight among potato varieties under ambient storage conditions, while significant varietal differences became evident during later storage due to differential dormancy and physiological behaviour.

Similar observations were also reported by Gupta et al. (2023) [9] . Pooled data of sprouting (%) of tubers at 60 days indicated that significantly highest sprouting was obtained in T 10 -P-1 (18.59%), followed by T 8 -C-6 (17.47%), whereas the lowest sprouting was recorded in T 5 -P-105 (6.01%). Some treatments such as T 1 -P-68, T 2 -P-79, T 4 -P-97 and T 11 -P-9 did not exhibit sprouting even at 60 days, indicating longer dormancy duration. Tuber dormancy in potato is a genetically regulated physiological state governed primarily by the endogenous hormonal balance within the tuber meristematic tissue particularly the ratio between abscisic acid (ABA), which maintains dormancy by suppressing meristematic activity at the eyes and gibberellic acid (GA), whose progressive accumulation following the natural decline of ABA levels triggers cell division and elongation within the sprout primordia ultimately resulting in visible sprout emergence. Similarly, Suttle (2004) [15] observed that the duration of dormancy and onset of sprouting are genetically regulated and influenced by hormonal balance within the tuber. The initiation of sprouting observed at 60 DAS in the present study may be due to the completion of dormancy and subsequent activation of metabolic processes. The data in Table 3.2 and presented in plate 3.1 and 3.2, related to the potato tuber parameters, i.e., shape, skin colour, flesh colour, flesh score and type of eyes. The result indicates that mostly treatments produced ovoid-shaped tubers viz., T 2 (P-79), T 6 (C-14), T 7 (C-17), T 9 (C-6), T 10 (P-1) and T 11 (P-9) except T 1 (P-68), T 3 (P-89) and T 8 (C-5) which had oval-shaped tubers, whereas T 4 (P-97) had round-oval shaped tubers and T 5 (P-105) had round shaped tubers. Based on skin colour, the result indicated that mostly treatments possessed white-cream skin colour tubers viz., T 2 (P-79), T 4 (P-97), T 5 (P-105), T 6 (C-14), T 9 (C-6), T 10 (P-1) and T 11 (P-9) except T 1 (P-68) and T 7 (C-17) which had yellow skin colour tubers, and T 3 (P-89) and T 8 (C-5) which had light yellow skin colour tubers. The result further indicated that yellow flesh colour tubers were observed in T 1 (P-68) and T 7 (C-17), cream flesh colour tubers were found in T 2 (P-79), T 5 (P-105) and T 4 (P-97), light yellow flesh colour tubers were recorded in T 3 (P-89) and T 8 (C-5), white-cream flesh colour tubers were observed in T 6 (C-14) and T 11 (P-9), whereas white flesh colour tubers were recorded in T 9 (C-6) and T 10 (P-1). It was further observed that yellow flesh colour tubers [T 1 (P-68) and T 7 (C-17)] had flesh score of 2.5 and 3, respectively, cream flesh colour tubers [T 2 (P-79), T 5 (P-105) and T 4 (P-97)] had flesh score ranging from 2 to 3, light yellow flesh colour tubers [T 3 (P-89) and T 8 (C-5)] had flesh score of 2.5, while white-cream flesh colour tubers [T 6 (C-14) and T 11 (P-9)] had flesh score of 1.5 and white flesh colour tubers [T 9 (C-6) and T 10 (P-1)] had flesh score of 1. With respect to type of eyes, shallow to medium eyes were recorded in T 1 (P-68), T 4 (P-97) and T 7 (C-17), whereas mediumdeep eyes were observed in T 2 (P-79), T 5 (P-105), T 6 (C-14) and T 9 (C-6). Shallow eyes were recorded in T 3 (P-89), T 8 (C-5), T 10 (P-1) and T 11 (P-9). Collectively these qualitative traits governed by the genetic regulation, tuber morphology and inherent genetic characteristics. Tuber shape, determined by the differential rate and direction of cell division and expansion within the developing tuber during the early stolon-swelling phase. Skin and flesh colour governed by the differential biosynthesis and accumulation of carotenoid pigments, particularly zeaxanthin, violaxanthin and lutein, within the tuber periderm and parenchymal tissue. Eye depth determined by the degree of tuber periderm invagination at the nodal points from which axillary buds arise. Similar varietal differences in tuber shape, skin colour, flesh colour and eye depth were reported by Chaudhary et al. (2024) [7] , who observed high morphological variability among indigenous potato genotypes. Further, Hara-Skrzypiec et al. (2018) [10] , who observed significant genetic variability for tuber morphological traits.

Conclusion

The result revealed that significantly highest initial number of tubers at storage under ambient temperature was recorded in T 5 -P-105 (23.67) and significantly highest sprouting percentage of tubers at 60 days of storage was recorded in T 10 -P-1 (18.59%) and the diversity observed in tuber organoleptic parameters viz. shape, skin color, flesh color, flesh score and type of eyes were results of genetical variability of the hybrids and varieties, that provides useful selection criteria for target specific breeding programmes, market and processing units requirements.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors extend their sincere gratitude to the Scientists of ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Regional Station, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh (474 020) and College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior (474002) Madhya Pradesh, India. for providing facilities for conducting research work and their invaluable support and guidance in the completion of the field and lab research experiment.

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