The growth and yield of cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) as affected by storage methods
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Universidad Nacional de Colombia
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Cocoyam (taro) (Colocasia esculenta) is an important tropical crop that requires minimal inputs compared to yam. However, increasing its production to meet the growing population's food demand is hindered by the susceptibility of planting materials to rotting in the field before the next season. While reports on storage conditions for cocoyam cormels are available, information on the storage of corms (propagules) remains limited. Hence, this study assessed simple storage methods and the field performances of corms stored under these methods at the Ayepe research field of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria in 2019. Corms stored under shade, in pits, and on raised platforms were evaluated in a completely randomized design with three replicates. On the field, freshly harvested corms (S1), corms stored under shade (S2), corms stored in pits (S3) and corms stored on raised platforms (S4) were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results indicated that weight loss and storage efficacy differed significantly (P<0.05) among the storage conditions. Weight loss ranged from 8.95 (S2) to 29.87% (S4), while storage efficacy ranged from 71.20 (S4) to 91.20% (S2). Corm emergence was significantly higher in S2 compared to S4 at 2 and 4 weeks after planting but was similar to the other treatments. Propagule storage conditions had no significant influence on cocoyam growth and yield. However, cormel yields for S1, S2, S3 and S4 were 7,483, 6,625, 6,729 and 6,208 kg h-1, respectively. Corms stored under shade or in pits were, therefore, recommended.
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