INDUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF POTATO-TUBERS IN A JAR FERMENTER

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers were mass propagated in a jar fermentor using a two-step method consisting of a shoot multiplication step (phase 1) followed by a tuber induction and development step (phase 2). Tuberization was observed within 2 weeks of phase 2 and the number of tubers did not increase after this culture period. In contrast, total tuber weight continuously increased for at least 10 weeks. Although the number of tubers and the total tuber weight clearly decreased under the lower temperature (17-degrees-C), this weight decrease was partially prevented by changing the temperature from 17-degrees-C to 25-degrees-C after 2 weeks of phase 2. This result indicates that tuber development can be controlled independently of induction. Lower temperatures influenced the localization and size distribution of tubers in the jar fermentor.