Abstract
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is a tuberous root crop native to the Andean region. The eatable tubers contain up to 70% fructooligosaccharides (FOS) on a dry matter (DM) basis. These FOS are not digestible by the human intestinal tract and do not cause an increase of blood glucose level. Therefore, the consumption of yacon tubers offers health promoting benefits. With regard to cultivation, little to no information about yield potential and FOS content as well as sugar composition of diverse genotypes is known. However, this information is crucial for the development of new health beneficial food products out of different genotypes of yacon. In the present study nine different genotypes were studied in a field experiment in 2017 and 2018 regarding their tuber yield formation, sugar yield, and sugar composition. The genotypes red-shelled (‘RG’), brown-shelled (‘BG’), and ‘Morado’ reached the highest tuber yields of 46.6, 43.5, and 41.6 t ha−1 FM, respectively. These three genotypes also had the highest sugar yields in the same order (2.2, 2.0, and 1.9 t ha−1). Considering the sugar composition and sugar content, these three genotypes were outstanding, with a sugar content up to 66% of DM (‘RG’, 2018). With regards to the development of possible food products, cv. ‘Peru’ can be considered as favorable for the fresh market due to high amounts of both monosaccharides and FOS. Genotypes ‘BG’, ‘RG’, and ‘Morado’ seem to offer various options for the food processing industry, due to their high amounts of FOS.
Highlights
The parameters tuber yield (t ha−1 FM, dry matter (DM)) and tuber DM% and number of tubers per plant were significantly affected by genotype-by-year interactions (Table 1)
In 2017, tuber yields (t ha−1 FM) of the genotypes ‘ranged from 0.86% (RG)’, ‘BG’, and ‘Morado’ were higher than the tuber yields reached under comparable climatic conditions in Czech Republic which ranged from
The current study revealed that across all parameters the three genotypes ‘RG’, ‘BG’, and ‘Morado’ were outstanding and can be recommended for cultivation in Southwestern Germany due to highest amount of tuber yield, sugar yield, and FOS
Summary
The tuberous root crop yacon ((Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. et. Endl.) H. The highest diversity of yacon genotypes can be found in Peru and Bolivia [1]. In addition to its area of origin, yacon is cultivated in Brazil, Czech. As it is not frost tolerant, it is grown as an annual crop in Central Europe and other regions with frosts [4]. Aboveground biomass can achieve a plant height of up to 2–2.5 m and consists of dark green leaves [4,5]. Each plant achieves a tuber yield of 2–3 kg, sometimes reaching up to 5 kg [6,7,8]. The color of the tuber’s flesh and peel varies from white to yellow, red, purple, or brown [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
