INFLUENCE OF THE HARVESTING DATE OF CARROTS ON QUALITY AND QUALITY PRESERVATION

Two early maturing and two late maturing carrot cultivars, which had been harvested in a sequence of different dates (after one single sowing date for each of the two groups) were investigated for quality, storage behaviour, and quality preservation.
The results were as follows:

• Carrots of the late harvesting date contained more carotene at harvesting, as well as after storage.

• The ratio of sucrose to monosaccharides increased with later harvesting dates and was preserved during storage.

• The respiration intensity of early maturing carrots decreased with later harvesting dates.
  Late maturing carrots showed the same reaction at the first three harvesting dates.
  But at later dates, respiration increased again.

• The later the harvesting date of early maturing carrots was, the smaller were storage losses.
  Storage losses of late maturing carrots did not show any clear relation to the harvesting date.
  But with all carrot cultivars there existed a very close correlation between storage losses and weather conditions during the last two weeks before harvesting: Storage losses could be explained both by rainfall intensity and by relative humidity.

Symposium on Quality of Vegetables

D. Fritz, J. Weichmann

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1979.93.11