effect of beta irradiation on quantitative and qualitative changes in potatoes during storage

post-harvest management of potatoes is a major challenge in iran. approximately 30% of the harvest is lostafter a few months of storage. the chemical methods for long term storage are not adequate to controldeterioration and also produce undesirable side effects. to address this issue, a study on radiationpreservation of potatoes was carried out. agria potato bulbs were irradiated using beta beams at dosages of0 (control) to 150 gray and then kept in conventional storage for 7 months. irradiation was done at 1, 4 and8 weeks after the date of harvest. every six weeks moisture content, reduced sugar, sprouted tubers anddarkening of peeled potatoes were examined. the results showed that decreased sugar accumulation,sprouting, weight loss and darkening of peeled tubers irradiated at 120 gray decreased more significantly(p ≤ 0.05) than for the less-irradiated tubers. irradiation time had a significant effect on these parameters.the best results were obtained for potato tubers irradiated before one month after harvest. the effect ofirradiation on nitrate content of the tubers was not clear. as the storage time increased, the moisture contentof the tubers decreased and, conversely, the reduced sugar and sprouted tubers increased. this treatment isrecommended as a method to decrease potato waste to less than 10%. none of the treatments arerecommended for treating seed potato tubers.