Development of an efficient and eco-friendly technique to break tuber dormancy in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is highly demanded due to the production of two or more crops annually. Several physiological and hormonal changes have been found to be related to the breaking of tuber dormancy; however, their consistency with genotypes and different protocols have not been well clarified. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of four dormancy-breaking methods, that is, plant growth regulator (PGR) dipping in 30, 60, or 90 mgL⁻¹ benzyl amino purine (BAP) and 10, 20, or 30 mgL⁻¹ gibberellic acids (GA3) alone and in the combination of optimized concentrations; electric current application at 20, 40, 60, or 80 Vs; cold pre-treatment at 2, 4, or 6 °C; irradiation at 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 kGy. In addition, changes in endogenous levels of abscisic acid (ABA), zeatin (ZT), and gibberellin A₁ (GA₁) in six potato genotypes after subjecting to these methods were investigated. Overall, the highest effective method for dormancy duration was the PGR application which shortened the duration by 18 days, followed by electric current (13 days), cold pre-treatment (9 days), and then irradiation (7 days). The solution of 60 mgL⁻¹ BAP significantly reduced the dormancy duration in all genotypes but did not have a significant effect on the sprout length. While 20 mgL⁻¹ GA₃ produced maximum sprout length with a non-significant effect on dormancy duration. The genotype × PGR interaction for dormancy duration was more pronounced in short- and medium-term dormancy genotypes than in long-term dormancy genotypes. The genotypes displayed a significant positive correlation between dormancy duration and ABA levels but exhibited a negative correlation between dormancy duration and ZT as well as GA₁ levels. From the first to the third week of storage, ABA was decreased in tubers while, however, ZT and GA₁ were increased. The obtained results could be useful for the postharvest storage of potato tuber and the related field of physiological investigation in future.

The development of an efficient, safe, and environment-friendly technique to terminate tuber dormancy in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) is of great concern due to the immense scope of multiple cropping all over the globe. The breakage of tuber dormancy has been associated with numerous physiological changes, including a decline in the level of starch and an increase in the levels of sugars during storage of freshly harvested seed potatoes, although their consistency across genotypes and various dormancy-breaking techniques have not yet been fully elucidated. The purpose of the present research is to assess the efficacy of four different dormancy-breaking techniques, such as soaking in 90, 60, or 30 mg L⁻¹ solutions of benzyl amino purine (BAP) and 30, 20, or 10 mg L⁻¹ gibberellic acid (GA3) alone and in the combination of optimized concentrations; cold pre-treatment at 6, 4, or 2 °C; electric shock at 80, 60, 40, or 20 Vs; and irradiation at 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, or 1 kGy on the tuber dormancy period and sprout length of six genotypes. Furthermore, the changes that occurred in tuber weight and endogenous starch, sucrose, fructose, and glucose contents in experimental genotypes following the application of these techniques were also examined. Overall, the most effective technique to terminate tuber dormancy and hasten spout growth was the combined application of BAP and GA₃, which reduced the length of dormancy by 9.6 days compared to the untreated control, following 6.7 days of electric current, 4.4 days of cold pre-treatment, and finally irradiation (3.3 days). The 60 mg L⁻¹ solution of BAP greatly reduced the dormancy period in all genotypes but did not affect the sprout length at all. The genotypes showed a weak negative correlation (r = − 0.4) (P < 0.05) of endogenous starch contents with dormancy breakage and weight loss or a moderate (r = − 0.5) correlation with sprout length, but a strong positive correlation (r = 0.8) of tuber glucose, fructose, and sucrose contents with dormancy breakage and weight loss. During 3 weeks of storage, sprouting commencement and significant weight loss occurred as tuber dormancy advanced towards breakage due to a reduction in starch and an increase in the sucrose, fructose, and glucose contents of the tubers. These findings could be advantageous for postponing or accelerating seed potato storage as well as investigating related physiological research in the future.

The tuber dormancy is an important aspect of tuber’s physiological age and begins with tuber initiation. It is largely dependent on genotype, environmental conditions, and tuber age. The group Phureja among diploid potatoes, has a very short or no tuber dormancy while the tubers of Solanum jamesii, a wild potato species, may remain dormant for more than eight years and have the tendency to sprout in favourable conditions. The dormancy breakage in potato is accompanied by many physiological changes such as changes in the ratios of abscisic acid (ABA)/ cytokinin and ABA/ gibberellic acid (GA3), catalase inhibition and accumulation of soluble sugars. These all changes are interlinked and occur in the same time frame. The dormant buds have 77% of their nuclei in the growth phase (G1), compared to only 13% in the preparation phase for mitosis (G2), resulting in slower development of active buds. This paper reviews various factors involved in natural and forced dormancy breakage of potato tuber in relation to their use as seed potatoes immediately after harvesting and implementation of different exogenous dormancy breaking methods like cold pre-treatment, growth regulators, electric current and irradiation to induce sprouting in potatoes.

Strawberry is a delicate fruit with a short shelf life after harvest. High metabolic activities and fungal decay deteriorate its quality. In an attempt to extend its shelf life and maintain its quality while retaining its antioxidant potential, the harvested fruits of strawberry cv. Chandler were dipped in 30% eucalyptus leaf extract (ELE). Weight loss, fungal decay index, percentage of decayed fruits, respiration rate, and electrolyte leakage were all reduced in ELE-treated strawberries. The enzymatic activities of catalase in fruits increased initially until the fifth day of storage but then started to decline during the later period while superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities continued to rise until the 10th day and then declined. With higher contents of total phenolics, ascorbic acid, total antioxidants, and anthocyanin, the application of ELE maintained the general acceptance, firmness, flavor, and marketable fruit percentage. Titrable acidity (TA) and sugar–acid ratio (SAR) were also significantly affected by ELE application. A declining trend was observed in TA during storage, along with an increase in SAR. The pH and soluble solid contents of strawberry juice were not significantly changed by the application of ELE; however, both attribute scores were greater than those for the control. In conclusion, ELE could be used as an environmentally safe method to postpone senescence and maintain postharvest quality for up to 15 days.

Background: Green chili is the predominant vegetable in tropical and subtropical regions with high economic value. However, after harvest, it exhibits vigorous metabolic activities due to the high moisture level, leading to a reduction in bioactive compounds and hence reduced shelf life and nutritional quality. Low temperature storage results in the onset of chilling injury symptoms. Therefore, developing techniques to increase the shelf life of green chilies and safeguard their nutritional value has become a serious concern for researchers. In this regard, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of the alone or combined application of hot water treatment (HWT) (45 °C for 15 min) and eucalyptus leaf extract (ELE) (30%) on 'Golden Hot' chilies in comparison to the control. After treatment, chilies were stored at 20 ± 1.5 °C for 20 days. Results: HWT + ELE-treated chilies had a significant reduction in fruit weight loss (14.6%), fungal decay index (35%), red chili percentage (41.2%), soluble solid content (42.9%), ripening index (48.9%), and reactive oxygen species production like H₂O₂ (55.1%) and O⁻² (46.5%) during shelf in comparison to control, followed by the alone application of HWT and ELE. Furthermore, the combined use of HWT and ELE effectively improved the antioxidative properties of stored chilies including DPPH radical scavenging activities (54.6%), ascorbic acid content (28.4%), phenolic content (31.8%), as well as the enzyme activities of POD (103%), CAT (128%), SOD (26.5%), and APX (43.8%) in comparison to the control. Additionally, the green chilies underwent HWT + ELE treatment also exhibited higher chlorophyll levels (100%) and general appearance (79.6%) with reduced anthocyanin content (40.8%) and wrinkling (43%), leading to a higher marketable fruit (41.3%) than the control. Conclusion: The pre-storage application of HWT and ELE could be used as an antimicrobial, non-chemical, non-toxic, and eco-friendly treatment for preserving the postharvest quality of green chilies at ambient temperature (20 ± 1.5 °C).

Background: Potato serves as a major non-cereal food crop and income source for small-scale growers in Punjab, Pakistan. Unfortunately, improper fertilization practices have led to low crop yields, worsened by challenging environmental conditions and poor groundwater quality in the Cholistan region. To address this, we conducted an experiment to assess the impact of two fertilizer application approaches on potato cv. Barna using plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) coated biofertilizers. The first approach, termed conventional fertilizer application (CFA), involved four split applications of PGPB-coated fertilizers at a rate of 100:75 kg acre^–1(N and P). The second, modified fertilizer application (MFA), employed nine split applications at a rate of 80:40 kg acre^–1.Results: The MFA approach significantly improved various plant attributes compared to the CFA. This included increased plant height (28%), stem number (45%), leaf count (46%), leaf area index (36%), leaf thickness (three-folds), chlorophyll content (53%), quantum yield of photosystem II (45%), photosynthetically active radiations (56%), electrochromic shift (5.6%), proton flux (24.6%), proton conductivity (71%), linear electron flow (72%), photosynthetic rate (35%), water use efficiency (76%), and substomatal CO₂(two-folds), and lowered non-photochemical quenching (56%), non-regulatory energy dissipation (33%), transpiration rate (59%), and stomatal conductance (70%). Additionally, the MFA approach resulted in higher tuber production per plant (21%), average tuber weight (21.9%), tuber diameter (24.5%), total tuber yield (29.1%), marketable yield (22.7%), seed-grade yield (9%), specific gravity (9.6%), and soluble solids (7.1%). It also reduced undesirable factors like goli and downgrade yields by 57.6% and 98.8%, respectively. Furthermore, plants under the MFA approach exhibited enhanced nitrogen (27.8%) and phosphorus uptake (40.6%), with improved N (26.1%) and P uptake efficiency (43.7%) compared to the CFA approach.Conclusion: The use of PGPB-coated N and P fertilizers with a higher number of splits at a lower rate significantly boosts potato production in the alkaline sandy soils of Cholistan.