ABSTRACT
Mechanical injury occurring at harvest or as a result of bad handling can cause considerable losses both directly and indirectly through enhanced physiological and pathological effects. Storage losses of fresh root crops are mainly due to physical, physiological, or pathological causes or various combinations of all three. Sprouting normally occurs at the end of the natural dormancy period, which may vary considerably among species and cultivars, and is also influenced by the storage environment. Biochemical changes in quality may occur during storage in all root crops, e.g., changes in the starch/sugar equilibrium which are influenced by storage temperature, storage at low temperatures leading to increased sugar content. Many post-harvest fungal pathogens are wound parasites and only capable of attacking storage organs at sites of injury. Traditionally the crop is left in the ground and harvested only when needed or when it is to be processed into a dried product of longer storage life.
