| Abstract: | A study of the mechanism of the rapid deterioration of cassavaroots has shown that this requires the presence of oxygen andscopoletin, the latter acting, apparently, in some autocatalyticfashion. Roots from plants whose tops were pruned off some daysprior to harvest were less liable to spontaneous deterioration,but responded vigorously to the applied scopoletin, whereasroots stored for some time in the absence of O2, so-called ‘cured’roots were no longer susceptible to exogenously-applied scopoletin.Clearly, metabolically, the two methods for prevention of deteriorationdiffer pruning may be effective due to internally-reduced scopoletinsupply or absence of some factor involved in the primary oxidation;‘curing’ may involve loss of a scopoletin precursoror inactivation of an enzyme system. Key words: Scopoletin, Manihot esculenta, Cassava, Post-harvest deterioration |
