Influence of Cover Crops in Post-Harvest Cultivation and Refrigeration of Carrots

Abstract

Lucas Silva Tizzo, Fernanda Salamoni Becker, Felipe Bonifacio, Filipe Pereira Oliveira and Ana Paula Silva Siqueira

Carrot (Daucus carota) is one of the most commercialized vegetables in the Brazilian market, but irrigation and weed incidence are limiting factors in the production of this vegetable. The aim of this study was to measure the post-harvest quality of carrot under the influence of cover crops and different storage temperatures. The experiment was installed in factorial scheme (4 x 2 x 6), with 8 covers with vegetal residue ( C1- grass, C2- rice husk, C3- sugarcane straw and C4- control- without cover crop), 2 temperatures of storage, T1- refrigerated at 5°C and T2- room temperature at 25°C, and 6 evaluation periods (0 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 days) using 3 replications of 5 roots each. The treatments with cover crops and post-harvest refrigeration are efficient to maintain the physical-chemical quality of the roots. The firmness of the roots at room temperature was lower than refrigerated (150.3 and 167.5 respectively). Most of the cover crops had higher SS/AT ratio than the control (average of 12.09 and 10.16, respectively). Cover crops and heat treatment had a positive influence on the shelf life of carrots.

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