Skip to main content

Yams, Dioscorea

Family: Dioscoreaceae

  • Chapter
World Vegetables

Abstract

Yams are a very important starchy staple crop of tropical and subtropical agriculture. They have been almost exclusively a subsistence food for the peasant farmer, but increasingly have become more of a commercial crop and are generally preferred to cassava. The name “yam” is often erroneously used to identify several other tuberous and root vegetable crops. Although yams are not of a single species, it would be helpful if this name were used only to indicate plants of the Dioscorea genus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Selected References

  • Coursey, D.G. 1983. Yams. In Handbook of Tropical Foods. H.T. Chan Jr., ed. Marcel Decker Inc. New York, pp. 555–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, M.A., and Collazo de Rivera, A. 1972. Storage of fresh yam (Dioscorea alata L.) under controlled conditions. J. Agric. Univ. of Puerto Rico, 56, 46–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, S.K., Osiru, D.S.O., Akoroda, M.O. and Otoo, J.A. 1987. Yam production and its future prospects. Outlook Agric. 16, 105–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jos, J.S., and Vehkateswaralu, T. 1978. Twining in relation to distribution among Asian yams. J. Root Crops 4, 63–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, F.W., and Sadik, S. 1977. Tropical Yams and Their Potential. Part 4. Dioscorea rotundata and Dioscorea cayenensis, USDA Agric. Handbook No. 502, USDA, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miege, J. and Lyonga, S.N., eds. 1982. Yams/Ignames. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Njoku, E., Nwoke, F.I.O., Okonkwo, S.N.C., and Oyolu, C. 1984. Pattern of growth and development in Dioscorea rotundata Poir. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 61, 17–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nwoke, F.I.O., Njoki, E., and Okonkwo, S.N.C. 1984. Effect of sett size on yield of individual plants of Dioscorea rotundata Poir. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 61, 99–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onwueme, I.C. 1978. The Tropical Tuber Crops: Yams, Cassava, Sweet Potato and Coco Yams. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quamina, J.E., Phills, B.R., and Hill, W.A. 1982. Vine production from tuber pieces of various sizes and sections of yam (Dioscorea alata L.). HortScience 17, 73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramanujam, T., and Nair, S.G. 1982. Control of sprouting in edible yams (Dioscorea spp.). J. Root Crops 8 (1 & 2), 49–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadik, S., and Okereke, O.U. 1975. A new approach to the improvement of yam, Dioscorea rotundata. Nature 254, 134–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Rubatzky, V.E., Yamaguchi, M. (1997). Yams, Dioscorea . In: World Vegetables. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6015-9_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6015-9_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7756-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-6015-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics