Pre-planting pulsed electric field treatment of potato tubers

Abstract

The work presents a summary of the laboratory analyses on the electric resistance of potato tuber vegetal texture that has been treated by pulsed electric field. Also results of field experiments with potato tubers, which have undergone pulsed electric field treatment prior to planting are shown. The analysis of the results shows that there is a significant dependence between the increase in the electric impedance of the potato tubers' vegetal texture after pulsed electric field treatment and their increased yield. Furthermore, the potato tubers which have been pulsed electric field treated prior to planting had an increase in the yield of 22 - 29% compared to the untreated potato tubers. Identical results are obtained regardless of the axis that the pulsed electric field is applied.