iPotato: Novel non-destructive detection of internal defects in potatoes

In the UK, damaged crops cost the potato industry over £200/ha requiring care to be taken at every stage of the production system to minimise this cost. Although disease contributes to crop losses, internal tuber defects that are undetectable from the outside (e.g., Black Heart, Hollow Heart and browning, bruising, etc.) also contribute significantly. Additionally, internal defects are an important cause of customer complaints resulting in crop rejection adding to direct productivity losses. The development of non-destructive methods for detecting internal defects in intact tubers, and for monitoring their progression, are therefore essential to (i) reduce the risk of damage to tubers due to such defects, (ii) maintain consumer trust in the quality of the crop, and (iii) minimize the reduction in productivity and associated costs to the industry.

We have shown that advanced biospectroscopy sensor-based technologies, Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) and Raman spectroscopy, allow the non-invasive and non-destructive analysis of crop quality based upon the spectral fingerprints of crops (e.g. Butler et al, 2015, Anal Methods 7, 4059; Butler et al, 2017, Vib Spectrosc 90, 46; Skolik et al, 2019, Planta 249, 925).

This project will adopt a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the hypothesis that biospectroscopy sensor-based approaches offer a solution to the detection of internal defects in intact potato tubers. The studentship will:

1. Investigate the alterations in the spectral fingerprint of tubers resulting from internal defects,

2. Determine whether different internal defects result in distinct changes in the spectral fingerprint of tubers,

3. Identify the molecular mechanisms underpinning the observed changes in spectral fingerprints of two potato varieties with contrasting susceptibilities to internal defects,

4. Determine whether internal defect development can be predicted from the spectral fingerprint of asymptomatic intact tubers,

5. Assess the potential for biospectroscopy coupled to chemometrics as a diagnostic tool for the autonomous identification of internal potato defects.