Effects of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene on sweetpotato storage root quality

This study investigated the effects of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on sweetpotato root quality (sprout development, weight loss and flesh colour). Sweetpotato roots of cultivar LSQUOOwairaka RedRSQUO were cured at 30°C and 90% relative humidity (RH) for four days.
Subsamples of these roots were treated with 1-MCP (1 µL L^-1) for 24 h.
Thereafter, the treated or untreated roots were stored at 25°C and 85% RH in continuous ethylene (10 µL L^-1) or air for four weeks.
Ethylene treatment, with or without 1-MCP, inhibited sprout growth (P<0.05), whereas 1-MCP treatment alone did not significantly differ from the control, as sprouting started one week after storage in both treatments.
In addition, ethylene treatment increased root respiration rates (P<0.05) and weight loss (P<0.05), whilst also leading to radial expansion of cells at the stem end of the root, splitting the tissue.
Contrary to expectations, ethylene-induced responses were not inhibited by a single dose of 1-MCP (1 µL L^-1). The flesh colour of cooked sweetpotatoes was darker in ethylene treated roots than in the untreated control or with exposure to 1-MCP alone.

XXIX International Horticultural Congress on Horticulture: Sustaining Lives, Livelihoods and Landscapes (IHC2014): International Symposium on Root and Tuber Crops: Sustaining Lives and Livelihoods into the Future

P. Pankomera, J.A. Heyes, S.L. Lewthwaite, N. Roskruge

1-MCP, respiration, sprouting, colour, weight loss

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1118.24