Malaki, Ioane and Hunter, David and Tuivavalagi, Natanieli and Ullah, Mohammed Wali (2003) The effects of sodium hypochlorite dipping, temperature and duration of storage on the quality of fresh taro corms destined for overseas markets. Journal of South Pacific Agriculture, 10 (1 & 2). pp. 17-23. ISSN 1018-7774
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Abstract
A study to determine conditions that promote the longevity of stored taro corms (Colocasia esculenta (L). Schott var. esculenta) following harvest was carried out in Samoa in 2001in response to rotting and weight loss problems. The study investigated the possibility that storage of corms at 5oC causes chilling damage, thus enhancing corm rot, and to confirm the beneficial effects of sodium hypochlorite as a rot control dip. 320 freshly harvested 8 months old mature corms were randomly divided into two groups. One group was dipped in a 0.1% solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and the other in water, for 2 minutes and packed into perforated plastic bags so that each contained 40 corms. The bags were then randomly selected into 4 groups so that each dip treatment was represented in every group. The four groups were cool stored for 2 weeks at temperatures of 5oC, 10oC, 15oC and ambient.(25oC) respectively. After 2 weeks, the bags were removed from the coolers, stored at ambient and sampled every 7 days for weight and corm loss. Results showed that over the two weeks of on shelf display following removal from cool storage, corms that were stored at 5oC sustained the least corm rot at 15.8%, followed by 10oC at 16.5% with the highest at 50.5% for 15oC. These results show that chilling damage did not occur at the storage temperature of 5oC and that the best temperature range to store taro corms in order to minimise corm rot when removed to ambient for on-shelf display is 5 to 10oC. Dipping in a 0.1% solution of sodium hypochlorite significantly reduced corm rot from 34.2% to 26.0% and weight loss from 4.0% to 3.7%. However the chemical dip had no significant effect on the number or weight of rootlets that sprouted from the stored corms.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > Q Science (General) S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) > School of Agriculture and Food Technology |
| Depositing User: | Ioane Malaki |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Oct 2016 01:50 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Oct 2016 01:53 |
| URI: | https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/9346 |
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