Abstract
Long-term storage of sweetpotato roots is a great challenge for smallholder farmers in Mozambique. Piecemeal harvesting allows several months supply of roots for household consumption provided weevil infestation is avoided. The objectives of the present studies were to determine yield and changes in key macro- and micronutrients associated with early or late harvesting of orange-fleshed sweetpotato cultivars in Mozambique. Four trials representing harvesting periods of 3, 4, 5 or 6 months after planting were established at Gurue in 2015. The randomized complete block design with three replications was laid in each trial. Yield measurements were done in the field and samples were selected and scanned for dry matter, beta-carotene, iron, zinc and carbohydrate using Near Infrared Spectrometry. Collected data were statistically analysed (SAS 1997 software). Yield, dry matter, starch, iron and beta-carotene increased linearly in some cultivars as time to harvest was prolonged. Iron was not affected by harvesting period. Stability of micronutrients such as iron, zinc and beta-carotene is essential when piecemeal harvesting. The study allowed accurate grouping of the cultivars tested into maturity groups for the first time.
References
Andrade M.I., Alvaro A., Menomussanga J., Makunde G.S., Ricardo J., Gruneberg W.J., Eyzaguirre R., Low J., Ortiz R., ‘Alisha’, ‘Anamaria’, ‘Bie’, ‘Bita’, ‘Caelan’, ‘Ivone’, ‘Lawrence’, ‘Margarete’, and ‘Victoria’. Hort. Science, 2016a, 51(5), 597 -60010.21273/HORTSCI.51.5.597Search in Google Scholar
Andrade M.I., Ricardo J., Naico A., Alvaro A., Makunde G.S., Low J., Ortiz R., Gruneberg W., Release of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [l.] Lam.) cultivars in Mozambique through an accelerated breeding scheme. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 2016b, 1-1110.1017/S002185961600099XSearch in Google Scholar
Azevedo A.M., Andrade Júnior V.C., Viana D.J.S., Elsayed A., Pedrosa C.E., Nieva I.P., Figueiredo J.A., Influence of harvest time and cultivation sites on the productivity and quality of sweetpotato. Horticultura Brasileira, 2014, 32, 21-2710.1590/S0102-05362014000100004Search in Google Scholar
Birol E., Meenakshi, J.V., Oparinde, A., Perez, S., Tomlins, K., Developing country consumers’ acceptance of biofortified foods: A synthesis Food Sec., 2015, 7, 555-55810.1007/s12571-015-0464-7Search in Google Scholar
Gruneberg W.J., Manrique K. Zhang D., Hermann M., Genotype × environment interactions for a diverse set of sweetpotato clones evaluated across varying ecogeographic conditions in Peru. Crop Science, 2005, 45, 2160.2171Search in Google Scholar
Hagenimana V., Carey E.E., Gichuki S.T., Oyunga M.A., Imungi J.K., Carotenoid contents in fresh, dried and processed sweetpotato products. Ecology of Food & Nutrition, 1999, 37, 455 - 47310.1080/03670244.1998.9991560Search in Google Scholar
INIA-IITA/SARRNET, Cassava and Sweetpotato Production, Processing, and Marketing in Mozambique. Report of Survey Conducted in June-August 2002. Maputo Mozambique: Relatório do Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agronómica (INIA), Southern Africa Root Crops Research Network (SARRNET), 2003Search in Google Scholar
La Bonte D.R., Picha D.H., Johnson H.A., Carbohydrate related changes in sweetpotato storage roots during development. Journal of American Society of Horticultural Science, 2000, 125, 200-20410.21273/JASHS.125.2.200Search in Google Scholar
Lebot V., Champagne A., Malapa R., a Shiley D., NIR determination of major constituents in tropical root and tuber crop flours. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009, 57, 10539-1054710.1021/jf902675nSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
Lewthwaite S.L., Sutton K., Triggs C.M., Free sugar composition of sweetpotato cultivars after storage. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1997, 25, 33-4110.1080/01140671.1997.9513984Search in Google Scholar
Low J.W., Arimond M., Osman N., Cunguara B., Zano F., Tschirley D., A food based approach introducing orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes increased vitamin A intake and serum retinol concentrations in young children in rural Mozambique. Journal of Nutrition., 2007, 137, 1320-132710.1093/jn/137.5.1320Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Queiroga R.C.F., Santos M.A., Menezes M.A., Viera C.P.G., Silva M.C., Physiology and productivity of sweetpotato cultivars depending on the harvest period. Horticultura Brasileira, 2007, 25, 371 - 37410.1590/S0102-05362007000300010Search in Google Scholar
SAS INSTITUTE, INC., SAS/STAT User’s Guide, Release 6.12 Cary, North Carolina: SAS Institute, Inc., 1997 Search in Google Scholar
Woolfe J.A., Sweetpotato. An untapped food resource. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1992Search in Google Scholar
© 2017
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.