Assessment of Potato Cultivars for Processing Based on Cluster Analysis

Introduction: In Russia, 7-8 million tons of potatoes are produced industrially per year, and further production growth of this crop in the near future will occur mainly due to the development of the processing sector. The most popular potato products are French fries, chips, dry mashed potatoes, quick-frozen and vacuum-packed potatoes. Their quality is determined mainly by the varietal characteristics of the potato, which are manifested in the tubers starch and reducing sugars content. However, the grouping of potato products depending on the biochemical composition of tubers, as well as the assessment of the suitability of cultivars for certain types of processing, has so far been carried out only intuitively and based on general considerations, i.e. without strict mathematical proof.

Purpose: Conduct a scientifically based grouping of potato products into clusters taking into account the variety-specific biochemical composition of tubers, develop requirements for raw materials that ensure the production of high-quality processed products, identify and recommend universally suitable potato cultivars for production.

Materials and Methods: The studies were conducted on 58 potato cultivars of different ripening periods. Potato products (French fries, chips, dry mashed potatoes, quick-frozen and vacuum-packed potatoes) were assessed according to the guidelines for assessing potato cultivars for processing and storage suitability. The starch content was determined by the gravimetric method based on the specific gravity of potato tubers in air and water, and the content of reducing sugars was determined by the Sumner spectrophotometric method. Mathematical data processing was performed using the methods of dispersion, correlation, regression and cluster analysis.

Results: For the first time, a scientifically based grouping of potato products into clusters was carried out with a justification of the requirements for raw materials in terms of starch and reducing sugar content. Cluster analysis using the K-means method for industrial processing purposes has proven the advantage of potato cultivars with later ripening periods; out of 58 studied varieties, 10 best universal potato cultivars have been identified and recommended for production: Babyninsky, Farn, Artur, Vostorg, Evpatiy, Kavaler, Nadezhda, Orlan, Rozyvny Charodey, Chaika.

Conclusion: The obtained data will serve as a basis for targeted selection of potato cultivars for industrial processing with specified biochemical parameters, and for large commodity producers will allow to systematize and simplify the use of existing and recommended cultivars for certain purposes.

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