Potato Tuber Greening: a Review of Predisposing Factors, Management and Future Challenges

Greening is a major cause of quality loss in potato tubers. As underground stems, potato tubers are non-photosynthetic plant organs that lack photosynthetic machinery. However, after light exposure, amyloplasts convert to chloroplasts in tuber peripheral cell layers, which cause the accumulation of the green photosynthetic pigment, chlorophyll. Tuber greening can be impacted by genetic, cultural, physiological and environmental factors including planting depth, tuber physiological age, temperature, atmospheric oxygen levels, and lighting conditions. Numerous studies have been devoted to understand and control this costly defect for the potato industry. This review brings together the available knowledge on light-induced greening, from causes to solutions and suggestions on further research with a focus on identifying the underlying mechanisms of tuber greening.