Potato Dormancy Regulation: Use of Essential Oils for Sprout Suppression in Potato Storage

Sprout suppression is essential in assuring potato quality. Release of natural tuber dormancy is affected by production as well as storage environmental factors, cultivars and tuber metabolic activities. Plant growth regulators are also shown to play important roles in regulating tuber dormancy. In commercial storage, sprouting is primarily controlled by low temperature combined with chemical inhibitors, such as Chlorpropham (CIPC). However, increasing concerns regarding the safety and environmental impact of chemical residues have increased interest in investigating the potential of alternate sprout inhibitors as well as disease suppressors, including essential oils. Literature has shown carvone, a major component of caraway, dill and spearmint oils, can temporarily inhibit sprouting and long-term sprout inhibition can be achieved by repeated treatments. Carvone plays a role in enhancing degradation of 3-hydroxy-3methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), a key enzyme that catalyzes the rate limiting reaction in the mevalonate pathway. Carvone and many essential oils exhibit great potential to be used for sprout suppression under commercial storage conditions for both consumption and seed potatoes. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________