Plant Cover Stimulates Quicker Dry Matter Accumulation in Early Potato Cultivars without Affecting Nutritional or Sensory Quality

Early potato crops are grown in the Mediterranean basin and are marketed from March to June, well before main-crop potato in the spring-summer growth period. Different growing technologies have been implemented to enhance potato earliness to achieve a better market price, but at the same time, the applied technologies may influence yield and quality of the 'early potato'. The main goal of this study was to investigate differences in early potato nutritional and sensory characteristics after oil-frying influenced by location and plant covering in five potato cultivars. The present investigation was carried out at two planting locations during two seasons. The application of a plant cover significantly increased the potato tubers' dry matter, starch, and sugar content in the second season. Sensory analysis of the oil-fried early potatoes revealed no differences between potatoes grown with or without the plant cover. We also observed significantly higher dry matter content in potatoes grown at the Split location in the second year, while no differences in the sensory scores between oil-fried potatoes grown at the investigated locations were observed. By employing a plant cover or by choosing a warmer planting location the desired potato maturity level could be reached in less time, and one could more effectively exploit the early potato market. By employing such techniques there should be no loss in yield, nutritional or sensory quality of potato tubers.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of location and plant covering on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of early potatoes after oil-frying. The results showed that the application of a plant cover significantly increased the dry matter, starch, and sugar content of potato tubers in the second season. Sensory analysis revealed no differences in oil-fried potatoes grown with or without a plant cover. The study suggests that by employing a plant cover or choosing a warmer planting location, one can reach the desired level of potato maturity in less time without compromising yield or quality.