Journal of Biotechnology and its Applications
Open AccessLong-term Storage of Turmeric (Curcuma longa) Rhizomes at Ambient Conditions in Jamaica:- t-Test for Matched Pairs and PCA Analysis
Authors: Collin SCANTLEBURY, Gillian ROWE, Oreane COLLINS, Danielle WILLIAMS, Ryan FRANCIS
Abstract
The research generated benchmark data from turmeric rhizomes, which may be specific to that variety and its growth environment. Ambient laboratory storage conditions allowed storage in excess of seven months while maintaining shoot germination viability. The most common weigh class of rhizomes in the sample was 10.5 – 15.0 g. After seven months, rhizomes lost on average 4.1 ± 3.3 g per rhizome or 32.6 ± 6.2 % of fresh weight. The t-test for matched pairs showed that the difference in rhizome mass pre and post storage was significant, with t = 4.83 (14 df) exceeding the tabled critical value of 2.15 (P = 0.05). IBM SPSS version 30.0.0.0 (172) PCA for factor analysis with data reduction showed that 94 % of the variance in the turmeric rhizome data was explained by three principal components (PC). These facilitate better identification of rhizome traits that may be used to enhance optimum rhizome storage. PC1 identified factors that promoted side branching. PC2 described factors that produced higher branching and larger rhizomes that increase weight loss. PC3 indicated that there were factors enhancing high shoot length and number of nodal rings which countered loss of weight during storage.
Editor-in-Chief
View full editorial board →