title: Rapid estimation of taro (Colocasia esculenta) quality by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
abstract: The aim of the present study is to develop a methodology for the rapid estimation of taro (Colocasia esculenta) quality. Chemical analyses were conducted on 315 accessions for major constituents (starch, total sugars, cellulose, proteins, and minerals). NIRS calibration equations, developed on a calibration set composed of 243 accessions, showed high explained variances in cross-validation (r(2)(cv)) for starch (0.89), sugars (0.90), proteins (0.89), and minerals (0.90) but poor response for amylose (0.44) and cellulose (0.61). The predictions were tested on an independent set of 58 randomly selected accessions. The r(2)(pred) values for starch, sugars, proteins, and minerals were, respectively, of 0.76, 0.74, 0.85, and 0.85 with ratios of performance to deviation (RPD) of 3.41, 4.01, 3.78, and 3.64. New calibration equations developed on 303 accessions confirmed good RPD values for starch (3.30), sugars (4.13), proteins (3.61), and minerals (3.74). NIRS could be used to predict starch, sugars, proteins, and minerals contents in taro corms with reasonably high confidence.
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, P.O. Box 946, Port-Vila, Republic of Vanuatu. vincent.lebot@cirad.fr
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lebot
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malapa
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bourrieau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D031060:Colocasia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008542:Melanesia; D008875:Middle Aged; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D011786:Quality Control; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013213:Starch / Q000032:analysis; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D008903:Minerals; D010940:Plant Proteins; D013213:Starch