The potato sprout suppressant 1,4SIGHT® has been of growing interest and importance as a suitable alternative to CIPC. The use of 1,4SIGHT® in commercial stores has proven effective to reduce shrinkage and bruising while maintaining sprout control comparable to that of CIPC. Previous studies sought to identify the mechanism by which 1,4SIGHT® controls sprout development but each was limited to a single long-dormancy cultivar. Our recent work evaluated multiple cultivars of varying dormancy lengths to identify a common response to the suppressant. Although responses were primarily cultivar specific, exposure to 1,4SIGHT® resulted in changes to hormonal signaling, increased drought stress response, and a reduction in processes related to growth and development that were common to all cultivars. These results suggest the mechanism of sprout control may be twofold such that perceived unfavorable growing conditions in conjunction with reduced growth-related processes collectively suppress sprout development.
Emily Dobry, M.S., Ph.D. Candidate, Agriculture and Environmental Plant Sciences, Pennsylvania State University