Enhancement of potato (Solanum tuberosum L) postharvest quality by use of magnetic fields – A case of shangi potato variety

Production of potatoes in the developing countries has been on the rise. This reinforces the growing importance of potatoes throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America as a source of food and livelihood. However, this crop continues to experience major postharvest losses that are associated with a lack of effective storage facilities in these regions. This study used magnetic fields (MF) as an innovative technology to reduce potato losses while under storage. The effects of test variables; sources of magnetic fields intensity and exposure time on physicochemical properties of stored shangi potatoes were investigated. Double Helmholtz coils were used to generate MF. The coils were supplied with either direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). Potatoes were then exposed to MF and stored in either the control or the commercial store. At the end of storage, physicochemical analyses were done following standard methods. AC MF resulted in significant (ρ < 0.05) higher specific gravity, dry matter, starch, and the number of sprouts per tuber but lower weight reduction, total sugars, reducing sugars, and non-reducing sugars than DC MF. Exposing potatoes to 3.00 mT of both DC and AC MF resulted in significant (ρ < 0.05) lower weight reduction, internal and external greening, sprouting, and the number of sprouts per tuber than in potatoes that were not exposed to MF. The current work has shown that it is possible to extend the shelf-life of the shangi potato variety by about 1 month, by use of MF, without compromising on quality parameters.