EFFECTS OF LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF ETHYLENE ON SWEETPOTATOES (IPOMOEA BATATAS (L.) LAM)) DURING CURING AND STORAGE

When freshly harvested sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea Batatas (L) Lam) were cured at 30°C in air containing 2 ppm ethylene, respiration rates rose more quickly, reached higher levels and remained higher than air controls during storage in air at 15°C. Ethylene-cured roots formed callus and their rate of water loss was somewhat higher than that of air-cured sweetpotatoes.

When air-cured and ethylene-cured sweetpotatoes were treated with 0, 0.1, 1.0 or 10 ppm ethylene for one month at 15°C, respiration rates and phenolic contents increased while color and flavor ratings decreased as ethylene concentration increased.
There were differences among cultivars in the magnitude of these responses, and ethylene-cured roots exhibited lesser responses to ethylene in storage than did air-cured sweetpotatoes.

When roots were air-cured, stored, and then exposed to 0, 0.1, 1.0 or 10 ppm ethylene in air for one month at 15°C, similar but greater responses were observed, and undesirable changes in phenolics, color and flavor tended to increase with time.

These results suggest a shorter expected storage life for sweetpotatoes exposed to ethylene during curing and show air-cured sweetpotatoes to be highly sensitive to very low concentrates of ethylene in storage.

Manipulation of Ethylene Responses in Horticulture, XXII IHC

Lisa A. Kitinoja

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1987.201.4