Potato cultivars are propagated by tubers which are sensitive to damage by freezing. Potato has about 100 related wild Solanum species growing naturally in the Americas. When tubers of a spectrum of these species were slowly cooled, most were killed at a few degrees below 0 C. Only tubers of Solanum jamesii, native to the southwest USA, remained firm, sprouted and grew after one week exposure to freezing temperatures as cold as -15C. Differential Thermal Analysis was performed to detect low temperature exotherms (LTEs) in jamesii and similar-sized tubers of cultivars Russet Burbank and Snowden. LTEs, indicating supercooling, were detected only in the jamesii tubers. Survival of potato tubers at freezing temperatures could be useful in several ways. Even non-lethal cold exposure of potato tubers at harvest reduces quality for eating and for seed, but storage at freezing temperatures without damage could help preserve tuber dormancy and limit diseases.

马铃薯品种通过块茎繁殖，该块茎容易受冻害。马铃薯具有约100种在美洲自然生长的相关野生茄属物种。当将这些种类的各种块茎缓慢冷却时，大多数在低于0°C的温度下被杀死。只有美国西南部原产的茄子的块茎在暴露于寒冷的低温下一周后仍保持坚挺，发芽和生长。 -15C。进行差示热分析以检测詹姆士氏酵母和类似大小的品种Russet Burbank和Snowden的块茎中的低温放热（LTE）。仅在jamesii中检测到指示过冷的LTE块茎。马铃薯块茎在冰冻温度下的存活可能有多种用途。即使马铃薯块茎在收获时进行非致命性的冷暴露也会降低食用质量和种子质量，但是在冷冻温度下储存而不会造成损坏，可以帮助保持块茎休眠并限制疾病。