Characterization of the gelation process in two varieties of potato

Abstract

The natural aging process of the potato, Solanum tuberosum L., begins immediately after the harvest. Storage is used to postpone this process as long as possible, preserving the quality of the product. During storage the tubers lose water, which represents 90% of losses. Similarly, at the end of storage and after a latency period, the potatoes sprout experiencing new losses in weight and quality.

Potato seeds are living plant organs that give off carbon dioxide and heat, they are susceptible to decomposition, therefore it is necessary to store them correctly, that is, to keep the tubers under adequate environmental conditions of temperature, light and humidity, storage is used to postpone as much as possible the natural aging process that begins immediately after the harvest; in this way, the quality of the seed tuber is preserved (Meza et al., 2014).

The onset of growth and weight loss are important factors that producers must know and manage to ensure a good planting and harvest. In this research, it was proposed to estimate the onset of growth and weight loss in the national potato varieties Dorinia and Marilinia. These varieties were released in Venezuela by (SENASEM) in 2011, now the National Seed Commission (CONASEM). It is currently in an adoption process in the hands of producers in the Andean region, where the phenological characteristics as well as its performance are being evaluated (González et al., 2017). Procedure carried out during the test The test was carried out in the storage shed under diffuse light of the La Cristalina Experimental Field, belonging to the National Institute of Agricultural Research of the Trujillo state (INIA Trujillo), located in the Los Pantanos sector of the Monseñor parish Carrillo, municipality and Trujillo state, at 9 ° 17 '17.05''N and 70 ° 22' 36.41''W, at 2750 meters above sea level, with minimum and maximum temperatures between 14.7 - 24 , 2 ° C.

The design of the experiment was completely randomized with 4 repetitions of 10 seed tubers each. Prior to the trial, the seeds of both varieties were selected, and the weights of each tuber were evaluated and of each variety, the polar diameter and the equatorial diameter were measured with a digital vernier, finally it was obtained that the weights ranged between 85- 89 grams of weight, while the diameters were 6.2 centimeters and the equatorial diameter of 3.8 centimeters respectively.