Potato tuber greening

Assessment of tuber greening

In the UK, tuber greening is directly linked to 116,000 tonnes of household potato waste each year with an additional estimated loss of £60m to UK retailers. In-field losses due to tuber greening also cost the industry £37m p.a. Greening is a negative factor in consumer purchases where a 1% increase in sales is worth £3m p.a. to producers.

Potato@Hutton researchers are working with academic and commercial collaborators to find a solution to the problem of potato tuber greening. A collaboration with University of Southampton and Branston Ltd showed that  certain wavelengths of light cause potatoes to begin turning green (paper submitted). We have also addressed the genetics of potato tuber greening and putative markers for tuber greening are under study.