Development of a Method for Luminescent Control of Potato Tuber Greening

Abstract

The aim of the study was to measure the spectral luminescent characteristics of potato tubers, calculate their energy and statistical parameters, and develop a technique for photoluminescent control of the greening process. For this research, potatoes of the Udacha variety were used. At the beginning of the greening, and then for 3 weeks, the spectral characteristics of potatoes were measured using a hardware-software complex based on a diffraction spectrofluorimeter. We measured the spectral characteristics of excitation in the range of 180–700 nm, and then the spectral characteristics of photoluminescence. The averaged spectral characteristics were used to determine the integral energy (absorption capacity and photoluminescence flux) and statistical (mathematical expectation, dispersion, asymmetry, kurtosis, etc.) parameters. All excitation spectra have several maxima, the largest of which are 362 nm, 422 nm, 264 nm, 482 nm, and 623 nm. Both for the entire investigated spectral range and for the majority of particular ranges, the value of the integral absorbance decreases during the process of greening. The photoluminescence spectra are located in the range of 390–470 nm and are qualitatively similar to each other. In the process of solanization, they shift down, with the largest shift occurring in the first week of solanization. The most suitable parameter for controlling the greening of potatoes is the photoluminescence flux Φ, recorded upon excitation by radiation with a wavelength of 362 nm. The developed technique for luminescent control of potato tubers greening includes excitation with 362 nm radiation and measurement of the integral photoluminescence flux in the range of 390–470 nm, amplification and processing of the received signal, taking into account the a priori obtained dependence Φ(t).