บทคัดย่องานวิจัย

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Root crops in the Pacific Region: their dietary, cultural and economic significance.

Pena, R. S. de la

Mineral nutrient disorders of root crops in the Pacific: Proceedings of a workshop, Nuku'alofa, Kingdom of Tonga, 17-20 April 1995. Year: 1996 Pages: 19-27 Ref: 44 ref.

1996

บทคัดย่อ

Root crops in the Pacific Region: their dietary, cultural and economic significance.

This paper reviews recent progress on different aspects of the use, cultivation and economics of root crops in the Pacific region. Cultural preferences for different root crops and methods for their preparation and cooking vary considerably across the region. Research suggests that the nutritional value of sweet potato and other root crops can be improved by selection and breeding. Statistics from the Pacific region show that sweet potato ranked first in production and area harvested in 1993, followed by taro, yam and cassava. Overall production of all root crops increased significantly over the past 30 years, although in some countries production of certain crops has suffered setbacks in particular years. Constraints include not only pests and diseases and the availability of land and water, but also market constraints, labour supply, lack of adequate capitalization and postharvest problems. Considerable potential exists to increase production and use of root crops through the development and a

doption of improved production technologies and systems, and improved postharvest handling and small-scale processing. These advances are necessary to increase the availability to and use of root crops by those who rely on them as a major source of energy and nutrition.