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Abstract
The effect of plant to plant variation and root size, weight, and location on storage root surface terpene chemistry of Centennial sweetpotato was investigated under field conditions. In plants grown in pots, the magnitude of the variation in concentration of boehmerol and boehmeryl acetate between plants in different pots, plants within pots, roots from a single plant, and location on individual roots was evaluated. Significant differences in boehmerol or boehmeryl acetate due to storage root location order along the axis of the underground stem were found for some individual plants, but the trend was not consistent among plants. A similar response was found for the distance down the underground stem at which the storage root was attached. Differences in surface chemistry between roots from a single plant appeared to be controlled by factors other than location along the main axis. Storage root length to diameter ratio accounted for 42% of the variation in boehmerol. The inverse of root density and its squared value combined accounted for 36% of the variation in boehmeryl acetate. These relationships were found among roots growing within a 5‐m‐diameter area of field, but were not present when the roots were from different sites. In pot experiments the greatest variance was due to pots; the within root variation was the smallest. Results of this study suggest that when selecting against boehmerol or boehmeryl acetate, more than one root per plant should be used to compensate for within plant variation, while one measurement per root was adequate.
Notes
Current address: Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria ‐ C.C.5, 3603 El Colorado (Fsa), Argentina.
Phytochemical Research Unit, Russell Research Center, USDA, Athens, GA 30613.