Question

Sprouting of potato under storage condition can be prevented by
(a)auxin
(b)gibberellin
(c)ethylene
(d)cytokinin

Answer 1

Hint: Sprouting is one of the factors leading to the loss of quality that contributes to the remobilization of storage compounds, primarily starch and proteins, and shrinkage due to water loss.

Complete answer:
-Auxin is the plant hormone used to prevent the sprouting of potato tubers under storage conditions.
-Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important crop plants worldwide.
-Potato tubers are an excellent staple food due to its high nutritional value.
-This in addition to their relatively easy cultivation makes potato more and more important as a critical crop to feed an increasing world population.
-Tubers are mainly consumed fresh, generating a constant all year round demand and making long-term storage of tubers after harvest necessary.
-To producers and processors, the preservation of post-harvest quality is of critical importance.

Additional Information: -Auxins facilitate elongation of the stem, inhibit lateral bud growth (maintains apical dominance).
-The stem, buds, and root tips are developed in them.
-Auxin is a plant hormone released at the tip of the stem that promotes the elongation of cells.
-Auxin travels to the darker side of the plant, allowing the cells on the lighter side of the plant to grow bigger than the corresponding cells there.
-This creates a curve toward the light of the plant stem tip, a plant motion known as phototropism.
-When the apical meristem is cut, this will cause the dormancy of the lateral buds to break and begin to expand. The plant, in consequence, becomes bushier.
So, the correct answer is ‘Auxin’.

Note: -As current cold storage techniques or treatment with sprout inhibitors are often problematic, new methods are required.
-An interesting alternative approach to the development of genetically modified potatoes with altered metabolic pathways was recently established to extend the dormancy time of the harvested tuber.