EFFECT OF HARVEST TIME ON THE STORAGE PERFORMANCE OF CARROT

SummaryStorage loss may adversely affect a considerable proportion of the carrot yield taken to the store. The present study aimed to determine the optimum harvest time to minimize storage losses. Experiments with two cultivars (Fontana F1 and Panther F1) were performed at an experimental site and on farms for three years. Delaying harvest decreased storage losses which mainly comprised spoilage due to storage diseases. Infections by the two major pathogens, Mycocentrospora acerina and Botrytis cinerea, were reduced towards the end of the harvest period. No further improvement in storability was observed after early October, but storage losses did not increase with a later harvest in most cases. Changes in storability were generally not related to weather conditions at or prior to harvest. Only the continuous frost at the very end of October in one season impaired storage quality.