VIEW ARTICLE

Relationship of Chilling to Development of Hardcore in Sweetpotatoes. Robert H. Daines, Professor and Research Specialist, Department of Plant Biology, Cook College, Rutgers University - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903; M. J. Ceponis(2), and D. F. Hammond(3). (2)Research Plant Pathologist, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Food Science Bldg., Cook College, Rutgers University - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903; (3)Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Plant Biology, Cook College, Rutgers University - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903. Phytopathology 64:1459-1462. Accepted for publication 12 June 1974. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-1459.

A condition we have called “hardcore”, which develops in the fleshy roots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) after exposure to chilling, was common in the cultivar Centennial, but was rare in cultivar Jewel. Exposure of Centennial sweetpotatoes from selected, field run, and virus-free plants to chilling temp just before, or during the harvest, storage, marketing, or use periods was effective in eliciting this response among fleshy roots from all sources used. Sweetpotatoes cured at 27 C (80 F) developed less hardcore than did fleshy roots cured at 15 C (60 F), following the same chilling and holding exposures.