Influence of Preharvest Temperature and Flooding on Sweet Potato Roots in Storage1
in HortScienceAbstract
Plants of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) were exposed prior to harvest to 1 week of warm-dry, warm-flooded, cold-dry or cold-flooded soil conditions. Roots harvested from the warm-flooded soil showed more rotting during curing than roots from the other treatments, and rotting continued during storage. Roots harvested from the cold-flooded soil rotted to a lesser extent during curing but rotted rapidly during storage. Roots harvested from the cold-dry soil showed no rotting during curing; however after 52 days of storage, the number of roots with rot increased sharply. Root respiration rates from cold-flooded, cold-dry, and warm-flooded soils were not significantly different, but those rates were much higher than the rate in roots from warm-dry soil. ‘Jewel’ had a lower respiration rate than NC 317. The cold treatments stimulated sprouting of sweet potato roots during storage. ‘Caromex’ showed the highest sprouting followed by ‘Jewel’, NC 317, and ‘Centennial’.
Contributor Notes
Received for publication December 4, 1979. Paper No. 6230 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, N.C. The use of trade names in this publication does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service of products named, nor criticism of similar ones not mentioned.
Former graduate student.
Assistant Professor.
Associate Professor.
