Description

The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an important food crop, grown largely as a carbohydrate staple and also for industrial purposes. Of the various physiological factors which affect potato storage, sprouting is the most obvious manifestation of deterioration. In the present study he potatoes were irradiated at 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 kGy to inhibit sprouting and evaluate microflora. The experimental and control group of potatoes were analyzed for the microbial load and growth of sprouts. The remarkable reduction in bioburden was noted in the case of highest dose subjected to potatoes i.e. 0.15 kGy. The irradiated potatoes showed less viable microbial count than the non-radiated ones even after three weeks of irradiation. This study indicated that higher irradiation levels proved to be most effective in retarding the sprouting of potatoes stored at ambient conditions.