Journal of Experimental Agriculture International

Due to its favorable agronomic traits, tolerance to abiotic stresses and adverse environments, cassava is the most important source of dietary carbohydrates for 750 million people around the world, and is produced mainly by subsistence farmers in marginally agricultural land. Physiological postharvest deterioration (PPD) of cassava roots is an endogenous and complex process that restricts their storage potential to only a few days after harvest. This physiological phenomenon is one of the main constraints in cassava agriculture with an enormous impact on the cassava market chain. It is estimated that losses due to PPD in cassava production in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Asia reach 10% and 8%, respectively, whereas in Africa they reach 29%.Several years of research have been accumulating evidence to consider PPD as a wounding stress deficient process involving changes in enzymatic activity and oxidative stress. The primary symptoms, the development of dark bluish or brownish radial veins or streaks near xylem vessels of the root pith tissue, appear within 2-3 days after harvest and spread to the neighboring parenchyma tissues producing a more general browning discoloration throughout the root. Secondary post-harvest deterioration, often appears when the roots suffer moderate to severe damage at harvest and is mediated by a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms, Several strategies have been proposed to overcome the problem, but each alternative has its limitations due to the variable results, lack of objective and systematic methodology for PPD evaluation, applications not conducive for use at farmer-level, limited genetic variability or absence of genetic and biochemical information. The present review examines the socioeconomic impact of PPD, the physiological, biochemical and molecular processes occurring in the root during PPD, as well as the current and future alternatives to overcome the problem.