Influence of storage conditions on the quality of carrot

An experiment was conducted at the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan Nigeria to determine the effect of storage conditions of two cultivars of carrots viz., 'Chantenay' and 'Imperator' in a humid tropical environment on quality characteristics. The carrots were harvested, topped, washed in distilled water and left to air dry naturally before being subjected to the four storage conditions namely, deep freezer (DF) (0-1 degrees C, 98-100% relative humidity, RH); normal refrigerator (NR) (4-6 degrees C, 90% RH); evaporative coolant structure (ECS) (18-19 degrees C, 87% RH) and open shelf under ambient condition (AC) (26-28 degrees C, 85% RH). Each treatment was replicated three times following a randomized complete block design. Deep freezer storage was beneficial in reducing decay, weight loss, discolouration and microbial growth. 'Chantenay' had a significantly (p<0.05) higher level of firmness and sugar content than 'Imperator'. However 'Chantenay' was more susceptible to microbial growth. Carrots stored in the evaporative coolant structure exhibited considerable significant loss in the vitamin A, vitamin B content. Ambient conditions recorded the highest weight loss, microbial growth, and discolouration compared to the evaporative coolant structure but it was appropriate for short-term storage (1-14 days) for local rural dwellers without electricity supply. The interaction between cultivars and storage conditions showed that there was significant difference between carrot cultivars and their method of storage.