Potato Chitting Is Often Regarded As Getting The Tuber To Sprout. But It Is Four Stage Process & the Sprout Isn’t The Whole Story. So What Is Chitting Potatoes About?
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In this article I am going to dispel some of there chitting myths and explain “What is Chitting Potatoes?”
Chitting Basics
Let’s start with the basics. Firstly, chitting isn’t confined to potato tubers. Seeds can also be chit.
Secondly, stored potatoes are dormant. Chitting is actually the process of breaking dormancy and usually results in chits or shoots. But technically chitting is accomplished aes soon as the tuber or seed comes out of dormancy and starts to grow. And in the very early stages the chit is not visible. Only later doing they become visible .. at the stage when most people say they have chit the potatoes.
I’m not being hard on those that don’t understand this process. Sadly most books and other media get it wrong. And in some senses it makes little difference. Until that is someone says farmers don’t chit potatoes or the sprouts would break off in the planter. Farmers can chit potatoes, that is to say ensure the potatoes are no longer dormant, and plant them without long chits. Most farmers I know that use a planter to plant potatoes do so when the chit is just a millimetre or so long. At this stage the planter does very little harm to the tuber and a good crop is ensured.
The Physiology of Chitting: Four Stages Of Chitting
The four physiological stages of tuber development are dormancy, apical dominance, multiple sprouting, and senility.
Dormancy: During this stage, no sprout growth occurs, even under ideal conditions. The length of the dormant period varies depending on the variety, growing conditions, storage temperature, tuber injury, and tuber maturity.
Apical dominance: At the end of dormancy, the apical eye (the bud at the top of the tuber) begins to sprout first. Planting seed tubers with apical dominance often results in plants with single stems, which can lead to reduced yields.
Multiple sprouting: After the apical dominance stage, additional sprouts develop. This is generally the optimum stage to plant seed tubers, as it results in plants with several stems.
Senility: In this stage, the tuber no longer produces productive plants. It is characterized by excessive branching of sprouts, production of long, weak sprouts (“hair sprouts”), and the production of small tubers (“little potatoes”) directly on the sprouts. Senility can be delayed by producing and storing seed tubers under cool conditions.
I would normally add links from Wikipedia but the chitting section is very minimal. And when I checked Wiki Commons there isn’t a single potato chitting image!
