The Impact of Effective Microorganisms on Flesh Color and Chemical Composition of Raw Potato Tubers

Piotr Pszczółkowski,Mateusz Pszczółkowski,Barbara Krochmal-Marczak,Barbara Sawicka

doi:10.3390/app11198959

Piotr Pszczółkowski, Mateusz Pszczółkowski + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app11198959

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop an innovative method of potato cultivation, with limited use of chemicals, for use in food processing. The results of the research are based on field experiments carried out between 2015 and 2017 at the Experimental Station in Parczew, Poland. The first-order factors were cultivation practices: A—standard cultivation practices with fungicides to control potato blight; and cultivation practices B, C, and D using the application of effective microorganisms (EM). The potato varieties were the second-order factor. The scope of the research included assessing the flesh color of the raw tubers and the content of dry mass, sugars and vitamin C. The color measurement of raw tubers was carried out using the CIEL *a *b* system. Cultivation methods using applications of effective microorganisms contributed significantly to the change in color brightness of the raw tuber flesh compared to the standard methods. The flesh color of the research potato cultivar tubers, their trichromatic coordinates and the reactions of potato varieties were determined according to the cultivation practices used. It was found that the brightness of the color of raw tuber flesh depends on the content of dry matter and the content of reducing sugars in the tubers.

Highlights

Consumers appreciate organically produced food without the use of chemicals
The use of effective microorganisms (EM) technology in potato cultivation contributed to the lightening of tuber flesh in technologies with tuber treatment with EMFarmaTM solution before planting and the application of 3–8 EMFarmaTM and Ema5TM treatments, compared to the 3-time use of fungicides in traditional technology
The applied cultivation practices with the use of EMs contributed to a significant increase in content of dry matter and starch, and to a significant reduction in the content of total sugar, reducing sugars, and sucrose compared to standard cultivation practices with fungicide use

Summary

Introduction

Consumers appreciate organically produced food without the use of chemicals. Organic production systems used in modern agriculture significantly reduce the use of synthetic products in plant production, and have a significant impact on the quality and quantity of the crop yield and affect crop suitability as a raw material for processing in the food industry [1,2,3,4].Currently, one of the most popular methods for assessing the color of plant products, which is the basis for the color management system in the processing of plant products, is the CIELab system. The influence of color and its importance in our lives are constantly increasing, our knowledge of color and color control is insufficient. This leads to many problems in decisions on the color of a final product or the possibilities of trade in food, especially refined products such as crisps and French fries. The CIELab system was used to assess the color of raw tuber flesh. This method uses principles of Euclidean geometry by measuring the difference in the distance between two points in the adopted color model in a three-dimensional space [5].

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