Abstract
The tuberous root crop, yacon, is native to the Andean region and contains high amounts of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) with up to 70% of dry matter. Due to FOS, consumption of tubers may have health-promoting effects. However, regarding the overall cultivation system, no recommendations exist for farmers on nitrogen fertilization and nitrogen (N) uptake of yacon. Therefore, three different N fertilization levels (0, 40, and 80 kg N ha−1) and two genotypes (brown-shelled (BG) and red-shelled (RG)) were examined in a two-year field experiment regarding their tuber yield, sugar composition, and nitrogen uptake. Tuber yields increased with increasing fertilization level and were highest for B80 and R80 (50 and 67 t FM ha−1), while significant differences between the genotypes existed. Sugar and the amount of FOS slightly decreased with increasing N fertilization level, and ranged between 36% and 73% and 30% and 58% of dry matter, respectively. An overall decreasing amount of FOS led to a slight increase in the amount of FOS with a higher degree of polymerization. Regarding the N-use efficiency of tubers and the total plant, an N fertilization level of 40 kg N ha−1 seems to favor tuber yield.
Highlights
The tuberous root plant, yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) ((Poepp. and Endl.) H
This study tested the influence of N fertilization on the tuber yield, sugar composition, and N
Differences of determined traits between years and the two tested genotypes were considerably higher than differences between the N fertilization levels
Summary
The tuberous root plant, yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) ((Poepp. and Endl.) H. The tuberous root plant, yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) Robinson) is native to the Andean region and related to the family of Asteraceae. Apart from the Andean region, yacon has been cultivated in Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Italy, and Germany [1,2]. The average tuber yield of each plant amounts to 2–3 kg, or up to 5 kg [5,6,7]. Each tuber weighs between 200 and 500 g on average, but can reach a weight of up to 2000 g. The color of the peel and flesh of the tubers can vary from white, creamy, yellow, and orange red, to purple [9]
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