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Bridging Dormancy Release and Apical Dominance in Potato Tuber

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Advances in Plant Dormancy

Abstract

The potato tuber is a swollen stem that develops and matures underground and is harvested at physiological dormancy. During postharvest storage, potato tuber dormancy is regulated by endogenous plant hormones and their balance inside the tuber. Dormant potato tubers cannot be induced for early sprouting without some form of stress or exogenous hormone treatment. The role of hormonal control in tuber dormancy release and sprouting has been investigated but is still not well understood. When dormancy is released, sprouting may be inhibited by exogenous sprouting control agents or cold temperature, leading to stem branching. Within the tuber, a rapid shift from storage metabolism to reserve mobilization during postharvest storage suggests a transition from sink to source, consistent with bud growth. Dominance of the growing apical bud over other lateral buds decreases during storage and is one of the earliest morphophysiological indicators of the tuber’s physiological age . Bud sprouting and branching during storage is a serious problem for seed tuber producers since it affects future plant stem numbers which in turn determine daughter tuber size distribution. Three main types of loss of apical dominance (AD) affect sprouting pattern. Hallmarks of programmed cell death have been identified in the tuber apical meristem (TAM) during extended cold storage or chemical stress and are associated with loss of AD. Nevertheless, hormonal regulation, carbohydrate reserves, and viability of the TAM cells determine tuber sprouting pattern.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Apical dominance

BE:

Bromoethane

CIS:

Cold-induced sweetening

PCD:

Programmed cell death

TAM:

Tuber apical meristem

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, The Volcani Center, ARO, Bet-Dagan, Israel

    Dani Eshel

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  1. Dani Eshel
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Correspondence to Dani Eshel .

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  1. Sunflower and Plant Biology Research, USDA-ARS, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

    James V. Anderson

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Eshel, D. (2015). Bridging Dormancy Release and Apical Dominance in Potato Tuber. In: Anderson, J. (eds) Advances in Plant Dormancy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14451-1_11

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