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The sweet potato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a very important crop for subsistence farmers in Africa and other developing countries.〔Ewell, P. 1993. Sweetpotato in Africa : Research priorities to stimulate increased marketing. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Methods for Agricultural Marketing Research, 16–20 March 1993, IARI Campus, New Delhi, India〕〔Bashaasha, B., Mwanga, R.O.M., and Ocitti p’Obwoya, C.N. 1993. Sweet potato in the farming and food systems of Uganda. A farm survey report. Kampala, Uganda〕 Due to its relatively short growing period, tolerance to drought and high yield from poor soils, it is used as a famine reserve for many of these households.〔〔 However it is a highly perishable food source that is susceptible to destruction by microorganisms, metabolic spoilage, physical destruction and pests.〔Devereau AD. 1994. Tropical sweet potato storage: A literature review. Report. Natural Resources Institute, Chatham〕 As such they are not generally stored for extended periods of time following harvest.〔Karuri, E.G. and Ojijo, N.K.O. 1994. Storage studies on sweet potato roots : Experiences with KSP20 cultivar. Acta Horticulturae 368: 441-452〕 This is a major barrier for the optimal use of the crop and causes a lot of waste.〔 The majority of subsistence farmers who eat sweet potato do not utilize a storage technique of any kind, instead using a method of continuous cultivation and leaving the tubers in the ground until they are ready to be used.〔Onwueme, I.C. 1982. The tropical tuber crops: Yams, cassava, sweetpotato, and cocoyams. English Language Book Society and John Wiley and Sons. Chichester, Britain〕〔Smit, N.E. and Ocitti p'Obwoya, C.N. 1994. Piecemeal harvesting of sweetpotato: Its effect on yield and yield loss due to sweetpotato weevils. Paper presented at the third triennial conference of the African Potato Association, 9–13 May 1994, Sousse, Tunisia〕 While less common, simple methods of storage do exist. The common ones include pit, clamp, and indoor storage and all extend the storage time of sweet potatoes by some degree.〔〔Dandago MA, and Gungula DT. (2011). Effects of various storage methods on the quality and nutritional composition of sweet potato (Ipomea batatas L.) in Yola Nigeria. International Food Research Journal 18:271-278〕 Maintaining proper storage temperature is probably the most significant barrier to good storage in subsistence farmers.〔 Pretreatment of sweet potato can help to minimize risk of losses.〔 Curing can toughen the skin and heal minor physical damages while drying can reduce spoilage and inactivate metabolic degradation.〔 Optimum storage of sweet potatoes occurs at , 85–90% relative humidity (RH) and requires proper ventilation to remove excess carbon dioxide (CO2) and bring in oxygen (O2) for respiration.〔 At these conditions sweet potatoes have been shown to last 5 months to a maximum of a year compared to 2–3 months normally.〔 == Susceptibility to spoilage == Sweet potatoes are a highly perishable crop and difficult to store for extended periods of time.〔 This is mainly due to their high moisture content, metabolic activity following harvesting and thin, permeable skin.〔 Following harvest, sweet potatoes are susceptible to spoilage by physical, physiological, pathological, pests and environmental means. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sweet potato storage」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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