04:01 PM PST on Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Associated Press

PULLMAN, Wash. - A potato researcher on the Palouse has come up with a new chemical to keep tubers from sprouting while in storage after harvest.

Rick Knowles of Washington State University in Pullman says he discovered his so-called potato sprout inhibitor by accident.

He was researching something else—aging seeds and potatoes—when he stumbled upon a chemical that's now being called WSU 570.

Knowles says "We were searching for something totally different."

He says a licensing agreement has already been signed between the Washington State University Research Foundation and a California chemical company.

WSU 570 could be put into action as soon as the 2008 growing season.