Effect of dipping seed potatoes in sodium hypochlorite or water on dormancy and yield

Abstract

Seed tubers for main-crop planting of ‘Rua’, ‘Whitu’, and ‘Katahdin’ were dipped in a 1% solution of sodium hypochlorite and in water for 0, 60, 120, and 180 min. Sprouting in hypochlorite-treated Whitu increased slightly before planting. After 4 months' storage field emergence of Rua was significantly reduced. Whitu and Rua yielded about 10% less after dipping in sodium hypochlorite for longer than 1 h. Yield of Katahdin, the lowest-yielding cultivar, was not affected by treatment.