How to prevent potatoes from sprouting

Every spring is the season when potatoes sprout. At this time, many farmers will make the sprouted potatoes into potato plants and plant them in the fields so that they can eat fresh potatoes in autumn. However, some people feel sad when they see potatoes sprouting, because sprouted potatoes are inedible. After potatoes sprout, they will taste spicy. So how can we store them to prevent potatoes from sprouting?

There are several ways to prevent potatoes from sprouting:

1. Put the potatoes into a sack or a basket lined with paper, sprinkle a layer of dry sand on top, and store in a cool and dry place.

2. Put the potatoes in a box and put a few unripe apples in the box. The gas emitted by the apples during the ripening process (actually ethylene, which will inhibit the cells in the potato eye from producing auxin. The auxin will not accumulate to a sufficient concentration and will naturally not germinate) will hinder the development of potatoes.

3. Potatoes cannot be piled up to allow them to respire aerobically. The key point is to pick out those with scars or bruises when stacking potatoes.

When the potato sprouts do not grow too big, they can still be eaten after certain processing. Because the toxin is formed due to the germination of the buds, the accumulation of the toxin is centered on the bud eye. When the bud is still small, the toxin has not spread yet, so you just need to dig out a piece of the bud and the bud eye. For potatoes with slightly larger sprouts, the toxin has already spread, and the first place it spreads is the cortex. Therefore, for this kind of potato, in addition to digging out a piece at the bud eye, you should also cut off a piece nearby.

1. Store potatoes in a low temperature place without direct sunlight to prevent sprouting.

2. Put the potatoes into a sack or a basket lined with paper, sprinkle a layer of dry sand on top, and store in a cool and dry place.

3. Put the potatoes in a box and put a few unripe apples in the box. The gas emitted by the apples during the ripening process will hinder the development of potatoes.

4. You can dig a small cellar to store potatoes. In an environment with suitable ventilation and temperature, it is best to

To store for several months.

When potatoes sprout, they produce a toxin called solanine (also known as solanine). Good quality potatoes contain only 10 mg of solanine per 100 grams, while the solanine content in green, sprouted, or rotten potatoes can increase by 50 times or more. Eating very small amounts of solanine may not necessarily cause obvious harm to the human body, but if you eat 200 mg of solanine at one time (about half a catty of green and sprouted potatoes), you may become ill after 15 minutes to 3 hours. The earliest symptoms are itching in the mouth and throat, upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. For those with mild symptoms, they will heal themselves after 1 to 2 hours through their own detoxification function. If 300 to 400 mg or more of solanine is ingested, the symptoms will be very severe, manifested as increased body temperature and repeated vomiting leading to dehydration, as well as dilated pupils, photophobia, tinnitus, convulsions, difficulty breathing, and low blood pressure. A very small number of people may die from respiratory paralysis. Therefore, patients with severe symptoms should be sent to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.