EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON GLYCOALKALOID AND CHLOROPHYLL ACCUMULATION IN POTATOES (SOLANUM-TUBEROSUM L CV KING-EDWARD) STORED AT LOW PHOTON FLUX-DENSITY, INCLUDING PRELIMINARY MODELING USING AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL-NETWORK
Ej. Edwards et Ah. Cobb, EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON GLYCOALKALOID AND CHLOROPHYLL ACCUMULATION IN POTATOES (SOLANUM-TUBEROSUM L CV KING-EDWARD) STORED AT LOW PHOTON FLUX-DENSITY, INCLUDING PRELIMINARY MODELING USING AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL-NETWORK, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 45(4), 1997, pp. 1032-1038
Potato tubers (cv. King Edward) were stored at 5, 10, 20, and 25 degre
es C for up to 8 days in either low light (12 mu mol of photons m(-2)
s(-1), photosynthetically active photon flux density) or darkness. Tub
ers were half-buried in potting compost to prevent light reaching the
entire tuber surface. After 0, 2, 5, and 8 days samples were analyzed
for photosynthetic pigment and glycoalkaloid content. Temperature clea
rly affected the accumulation of chlorophylls, with 20 degrees C causi
ng maximal greening. The buried surface of tubers exposed to light als
o greened, although accumulating only 15-40% of the chlorophyll found
in the upper, exposed tissues. However, there was no effect of the tem
perature or light exposure regimes employed on glycoalkaloid concentra
tions. Using this data, an artificial neural network was used to produ
ce a preliminary model of the greening process. It was found that this
closely resembled the actual results and could estimate intermediate
data. It is concluded that there is no biosynthetic link between the l
ow light-induced accumulation of chlorophyll and glycoalkaloids in thi
s commercially important potato cultivar under the conditions describe
d.