บทคัดย่องานวิจัย

หมวดหมู่ : ฐานข้อมูลงานวิจัย

Changes in the traditional postharvest system of yam (Dioscorea alata L.) in Costa Rica for improving shelflife.

Demerutis Pena, C. F.; Rodriguez Arias, C. J.;

Proceedings of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture

2001

บทคัดย่อ

Changes in the traditional postharvest system of yam (Dioscorea alata L.) in Costa Rica for improving shelflife.

The postharvest handling of yam in Costa Pica is presented, including problems encountered during the storage and distribution of yam in Miami and Puerto Rico markets, and possible solutions. Generally, fluctuation in prices is the main problem that exporters face in marketing agricultural products. Yam is not an exception to this, considering that from February to June, a 50-lb box of yam costs $12 while from July to January, it costs $20-28. Due to this situation, some Costa Rican exporters decide to maintain their products in storage and market them in months of low supply. This causes several changes in the yam postharvest system, which initially were not well understood by those involved, causing economic losses. The exporters pack their product and keep it in cold storage for 2 months, which caused sprouting and rotting of the product and affected the carrying capacity of the boxes. As a result, the product had to be repacked, generating extra costs. We discuss the correct handling procedures, from the reception of the product to its refrigerated storage, putting special emphasis on the aspects of curing, storage in pallet bins, relative humidity and packing just before the product is sent to the market.