​​​​Aging of Seed Potatoes—Physiological Process &​ Consequences for Production

October 2012 | 52 min., 07 sec.
by N. Richard Knowles
Washington State University

Summary

​This presentation will help consultants, growers, researchers, and other practitioners to identify production, postharvest handling, and storage factors that influence the physiological age and productivity of seed potatoes. Understanding the physiology of aging and how it affects crop growth and yield will enable the adoption of management practices to control the aging process to optimize tuber set and size distribution for various markets. This presentation will address the effects of seed age on plant growth and development and the utilization of key age-induced growth responses as indicators of the relative physiological age of seed lots. It will also review the sensitivity of cultivars to environmental conditions that accelerate aging. By the end of this presentation, the practitioner should have a solid understanding of the physiological basis of aging of seed potatoes and its consequences for production.

About the Presenter

N. Richard Knowles​​ N. Richard Knowles is Professor and Chair of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Washington State University. Rick has a BSc in biology from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario) and MS and PhD degrees in Horticulture from Michigan State University and Washington State University (WSU), respectively. After graduating from WSU in 1983, Rick joined the Department of Plant Science at the University of British Columbia as Assistant Professor. He moved to the University of Alberta (Edmonton) in 1986, where he taught courses in vegetable crop production and postharvest physiology and maintained a robust research program that was well supported by federal and provincial sources. Rick returned to WSU in 1999 to focus his research on various aspects of production and postharvest physiology and biochemistry of potatoes.

Contact Information:
Email: rknowles@wsu.edu

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