Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber periderm development plays a vital role in mitigating skinning and protecting the tuber from biotic and abiotic stress. During development native periderm originates from the hypodermis, and as the tuber matures the meristematic phellogen divides to produce the phellem and phelloderm. As the phellem matures, shear resistance begins to increase and the protective polymer suberin begins to develop. Although these processes have been thoroughly studied, little research has been done measuring these factors throughout the growing season and across cultivar. Precutting seed tubers is frequently performed by growers to reduce seed cost and break dormancy. Allowing for the development of the wound periderm before planting is a strategy that is also commonly employed. Although the development of potato wound periderm is well established, the impact of cultivar on wound periderm ontogeny and post-harvest metrics has yet to be thoroughly investigated. The first chapter of this research was performed to examine periderm ontogeny in-field. Yield, foliar weight, phellem tissue thickness, phellem cell number, and skinning resistance were recorded to measure the impact of periderm development. The second chapter is dedicated to investigating the influence of cultivar (Russet Burbank, Clearwater Russet, Alturas) and precut seed tuber storage time on emergence, yield, tuber size, enzymatic wound response and potential revenue.
Connor Lee Buckley (Wed,) studied this question.