EFFECTS OF STORAGE CONDITIONS AND STORAGE PERIOD ON NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER QUALITIES OF STORED YAM (Dioscorea spp) TUBERS

Yam is one of the preferred staple foods in West Africa. The annual vegetative cycle of yam necessitates a long period of storage to make it available all year round. The major problems in yam tuber storage are sprouting, respiration and transpiration, which cause weight and quality losses. In this work, the effects of storage conditions and storage period on the nutritional and other qualities of stored yam tubers were investigated. Storage conditions used were two traditional yam barns, one with fan to aid air circulation and the other without. A total of 216 tubers of yam (Dioscorea roundata) “Giwa ” variety with 108 tubers in each barn, were stored in the barns. Parameters evaluated were temperature and relative humidity of the storage environment, signs of deterioration of the tuber such as sprouting, weight loss and rotting and some nutritional parameters (carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, crude fibre, crude fat, crude protein, ash and moisture contents). Temperature and relative humidity were measured three times a week and four times a day at 0800h, 1200h, 1600h and 2000h. The results showed that average temperature and relative humidit