Influence of vine senescence and storage on wound healing of Russet Burbank tubers

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Russet Burbank) tubers were harvested weekly over a 6 week period from non-water-stressed and water-stressed plants. Discs were cut from fresh tubers and from tubers stored for 10 days at 4°C to determine their wound healing ability as evaluated by disc resistance to water loss. Neither harvest date nor water status significantly influenced wound healing while storage significantly increased wound healing ability. Enhanced wound healing associated with storage was accompanied by reduced variability of disc resistance to water loss and increased levels of suberin as reflected by the diol and alcohol components. This work suggests that plant senescence and harvest date are not good indicators of the potential wound healing ability of tubers. Physiological evidence is presented to support the practice of short periods of storage following harvest to improve tuber wound healing ability and thereby reduce shipping and handling losses due to injury.