DISEASE AND SPROUT CONTROL IN INDIVIDUALLY FILM WRAPPED POTATOES

Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Russet Burbank) were individually wrapped in Cryovac D-955, a biaxially oriented shrink film, and stored at 24°C. The wrapped potatoes were either treated with a fungicide (thiobendazole), or the film itself was coated with an antimicrobial agent (silicon quaternary ammonium salt) to control diseases that may appear during storage and marketing. Under film wrapped conditions, disease control using a fungicide or antimicrobial agent was not completely successful; however, the marketable qualities of the potatoes were not affected. Disease spread under film wrapped conditions was minimized if the potatoes were disinfected in chlorine (0.5% sodium hypochlorite) and wrapped after they were dried. In another study dormant and post-dormant potatoes were individually film wrapped after they were treated with maleic hydrazide (MH) (pre-harvest treatment) or isopropyl N-(3-chlorophenyl) carbamate (CIPC) (postharvest treatment) for sprout control. Under film wrapped conditions, MH decreased sprouting in the dormant potatoes but not in the post-dormant potatoes. CIPC inhibited sprouting in the post-dormant film wrapped potatoes but was less effective in the dormant potatoes. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.