Amylolytic process or amylolysis is the conversion of starch into sugar by the action of acids or enzymes such as amylase.
Starch begins to pile up inside the leaves of plants during times of light when starch is able to be produced by photosynthetic processes. This ability to make starch disappears in the dark due to the lack of illumination; there is insufficient amount of light produced during the dark needed to carry this reaction forward. Turning starch into sugar is done by the enzyme amylase.