Studies on Physico-Chemical Constituents in Different Cultivars of Sweet Potato under West Bengal Condition

Abstract

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a low-input crop that can produce stable yields under suboptimal conditions. It is a nutritious and ample food source for humans and animals as well as a raw material for manufacturing. The experiment was carried out at the Horticulture Research Stationand AICRP Tuber Crops laboratory of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Wst Bengal, India from 2012–2014 to study the variability existing among the tubers after harvest. It has been found that the different cultivars had plant length (79.26–130.36 cm.), number of shoots/plant (7–13.67), number of leaves/plant (56.33–120), and number of tubers/plant (2.67–7), tuber weight (80.23–175.87 gm.), length (17.07–24.05 cm.), girth (3.42–5.28 cm.), yield/plant (2.97–10.78 kg/plant)and these varied significantly among the cultivars. The cultivars were observed to have good biochemical properties with moisture content (74.74–150.74%), dry matter (18.42–31.62%), TSS (6.43–11.25°Brix), ascorbic acid (12.84–25.91 mg/lOOgm), total sugars (2.17–3.68%), carbohydrate (15.67–28.42 mg/lOOg), protein (1.09–3.08%)and starch (8.23–15.56%). They have also high sensory scores (7.20–8.55) based on the results obtained from overall acceptability. Cultivar IGSP-15, S-61 and ST-14 were identified to be superior considering all qualitative aspects like morphological characteristics, overall acceptability, biochemical compositions like good nutritional value, antioxidant property and suitable for processing purposes which can be selected for further improvement and can be promoted for cultivation. Results show that these sweet potato varieties have potentials of biological properties and could have wide utility in food, alcohol and sugar industries. In addition, it could serve as a promising source of protein and its consumption could be utilized in the management of diseases that implicate free radicals.