Pheno yping o yam geno ypes o a
high quali y o boiled and pounded
p oduc s
Abomey-Cala i, Benin, Oc obe 2025
Lau enda HONFOZO, UAC-FSA, Co onou, Benin
Penelope PEDE, UAC-FSA, Co onou, Benin
F ancis HOTEGNI, UAC-FSA, Co onou, Benin
Lau en ADINSI, UAC-FSA, Co onou, Benin
Noël AKISSOE, UAC-FSA, Co onou, Benin
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 2 o 20
This epo has been w i en in he amewo k o he RTB oodomics p ojec (unde CIRAD
coo dina ion), as a con inua ion o wo k ini ia ed unde he RTB oods and RTB B eeding p ojec s.
To be ci ed as:
Lau enda HONFOZO, Penelope PEDE, F ancis HOTEGNI, Lau en ADINSI, Noël AKISSOE (2025).
Pheno yping o yam geno ypes o a high quali y o boiled and pounded p oduc s. Abomey-Cala i,
Benin: RTB oodomics, Scien i ic Repo , 20 p. h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17611132
E hics: The ac i i ies, which led o he p oduc ion o his documen , we e assessed and app o ed by
he CIRAD E hics Commi ee (H2020 e hics sel -assessmen p ocedu e). When ele an , samples we e
p epa ed acco ding o good hygiene and manu ac u ing p ac ices. When ex e nal pa icipan s we e
in ol ed in an ac i i y, hey we e p io ly in o med abou he objec i e o he ac i i y and explained
ha hei pa icipa ion was en i ely olun a y, ha hey could s op he in e iew a any poin and ha
hei esponses would be anonymous and secu ely s o ed by he esea ch eam o esea ch pu poses.
Acknowledgmen s: This wo k was suppo ed by he RTB oodomics, h ough a g an om he Bill &
Melinda Ga es Founda ion (BMGF) o he F ench Ag icul u al Resea ch Cen e o In e na ional
De elopmen (CIRAD), Mon pellie , F ance, inco po a ed in he g an ag eemen INV-054662_2024
be ween CIRAD and BMGF.
Image co e page © CIRAD.
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 3 o 20
This documen has been e iewed by
Noel AKISSOE
Oluwa oyin AYETIGBO
09/2025
09/2025
Final alida ion by
Dominique DUFOUR 10/2025
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 4 o 20
Table o Con en s
Table o Figu es ........................................................................................................................................5
Abs ac ....................................................................................................................................................6
1 Con ex .............................................................................................................................................7
2 Me hodology ....................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Plan ma e ials sampling ......................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Boiled yam p epa a ion ........................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Pounded yam p epa a ion ...................................................................................................... 7
3 Resul s ..............................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Va ie al and s o age e ec s on ex u al pa ame e s o boiled yam ....................................... 8
3.2 Boiled yam c umbliness p edic ion and posi ioning o h esholds ....................................... 12
3.2.1 Using LDPeak/Apeak pa ame e ................................................................................... 12
3.2.2 Using maximum o ce Fpeak pa ame e ....................................................................... 12
3.3 E ec o s o age du a ion on pounded yam ex ensibili y ..................................................... 16
3.4 E ec o s o age on senso y desc ip o s o pounded yam a ha es ime o ou h mon h o
s o age ............................................................................................................................................... 16
4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Re e ences ............................................................................................................................................. 20
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 5 o 20
TABLE OF FIGURES
Table 1: Fpeak pa ame e o boiled yam as a ec ed by a ie al and s o age e ec s ............................ 9
Table 2: LDpeak/Apeak pa ame e o boiled yam as a ec ed by a ie al and s o age e ec s ............ 10
Table 3: Boiled yam c umbliness p edic ion based on LDPeak/Apeak pa ame e ............................... 13
Table 4: Boiled yam c umbliness p edic ion based on Fpeak pa ame e ............................................. 14
Table 5: Pounded yam ex ensibili y (mm) as a ec ed by s o age du a ion ......................................... 17
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 6 o 20
ABSTRACT
Making good yam a ailable all he yea o p ocessing yam de i a i es is one o b eeding challenges.
Boiled and pounded yams a e popula and widely consumed dishes in Wes A ica, bu hey depend
on yam geno ypes. In addi ion, s o age o yam ube s a ec s quali y o hese de i ed p oduc s. The
s udy aimed a e alua ing he ex u e beha io o boiled and pounded yam du ing s o age o six
mon hs. Yam geno ypes (17) including se en land aces and en hyb ids we e selec ed o base line es
and s o age. Ins umen al analyses o ex u e we e pe o med on bo h p oduc s using uniaxial ex u e
analyse . Some yam geno ypes ga e high quali y p oduc s only jus a e ha es while o he we e less
good a ha es ime, hen imp o ed wi h s o age. Some geno ypes exhibi ed a pic quali y beha iou ,
wi h low quali y a ha es ime, imp o ed o ew mon hs and hen became low again. O he
geno ypes had low quali y om he beginning o he end o s o age, conside ing op imal h eshold.
Key Wo ds: hyb ids, pounded yam, boiled yam s o age, ex ensibili y, c umbliness, sc eening
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 7 o 20
1 CONTEXT
Boiled yam and Pounded yam a e widely consumed dish in many coun ies o Wes A ica (O egbayo
e al, 2023). Pounded yam majo ai is i s s e chabili y while c umbliness plays a de e mining ole in
he accep abili y o boiled yam. The high quali y o bo h p oduc s depends on he a ie y/geno ype
used o p epa a ion, all o he hings being equal. Gene ally, only some a ie ies belonging o D.
cayenensis- o unda a species a e app op ia e o making bo h p oduc s and in a lesse ex en ew D.
ala a a ie ies (Ebah-Djedji e al, 2023). A high-quali y boiled o pounded yam is no o en a ailable all
he yea ound due o he sca ci y o app op ia e yam a ie ies o making pounded yam. I is he e o e
necessa y o s o e yam ube s o a ela i ely long pe iod o ensu e he a ailabili y o bo h p oduc s a
any pe iod o he yea . Mo eo e , p e ious s udies showed ha du ing s o age, he quali y o de i ed
p oduc s changes signi ican ly. Speci ically, o pounded yam, s e chabili y can be a ec ed by s o age
du a ion o aw yam (Hounhouigan e al, 2003; Akissoe e al, 2009, Ebah-Djedji e al, 2023).
S e chabili y and c umbliness h esholds ha e been de e mined o boiled and pounded yam (Adinsi
e al, 2024). These h esholds can hen be used o disc imina e a ie ies/geno ypes. Since some
a ie ies can be good o ela i ely good o boiling and pounding a beginning and become low o
be e a e s o age, i is impo an o conside s o age while sc eening a ie ies. The s udy aimed a
app ecia ing he e ec pos -ha es s o age on boiled and pounded yam.
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Plan ma e ials sampling
Plan ma e ials comp ised 16 yam geno ypes ob ained om Bio a e cen e ields loca ed a Bassila,
Dassa-Zoumè, Djougou and Massi. These geno ypes we e composed o land aces (Assinaga, Assou a,
Baka o, Kpèguèlèhoun, Makpa Tolaha and Odo) and hyb ids (TD 1000344 (Ido o), TD A5-2003,
TD 8902665, TD 1443002, TDa1510119, TDa1510043, TDa1515030, TDa1508044, TDa1520002 and
TDa1520008). Kpèguèlèhoun belonging o land aces ca ego y was om D. ala a specie. They we e
ha es ed in Decembe 2024 and s o ed o 6 mon hs. All geno ypes we e s o ed a oom in a well-
en ila ed a ic a he BIORAVE cen e in Massi. Each mon h, ube s o each geno ype we e collec ed
and p ocessed in pounded yam which we e cha ac e ised om 15 days a e ha es o 6 mon hs o
s o age.
2.2 Boiled yam p epa a ion
Two (2) o en (10) yam ube s pe geno ype, we e peeled a e emo ing o 1/10 o om end pa
(dis al and p oximal). Pe ube , a punch was used o ake cubic samples ha ing 2.5 cm sides. The cubic
samples we e di ided in o ba ches: one o s eam-cooking while he second om ieze d ying a e
g a ing. This expe imen al design was pe o med o each ube . Subsequen ly he samples o
s eaming o eeze d ying we e mixed by ba ch. In o al, a ound 40 cubic samples we e collec ed and
s eam-cooked du ing 38 min, while 200 g o g a ed esh sample was conside ed. A e s eam cooking,
10-12 cubic samples we e used o ex u e analysis while he emaining was s o ed a -80 °C o eeze
d ying.
2.3 Pounded yam p epa a ion
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 8 o 20
Pounded yam was p epa ed acco ding o s anda d p ocedu e de eloped by Adinsi e al. (2024). Two
(2) o six (06) yam ube s pe geno ype depending on hei size we e conside ed. Each ube was
di ided in hal leng hwise o ob ain wo pai s (T1a and T1b). Fo each cooking ba ch, he combina ion
om a leas wo ube s (T1a and T2a) was used. The second combina ion (T1b and T2b) ep esen ed
he eplica e o he same geno ype. Then, each hal o he ube s om a cooking ba ch we e cu in o
small cubes. Subsequen ly he samples o pounding and eeze d ying we e collec ed. 450 g o he
mix u e was s eamed in a pounde wi h 250 mL o wa e o app oxima ely 23 minu es, hen pounded
o 4 minu es. A e pounding, app oxima ely 350 g o he pounded yam was used o senso y analysis,
and app oxima ely 150 g o ex u e analysis (ex ensibili y es ).
3 RESULTS
3.1 Va ie al and s o age e ec s on ex u al pa ame e s
o boiled yam
The maximum o ce (Fpeak) (Table 1) and LDpeak/Apeak (Table 2) we e signi ican i ely a ec ed by
a ie al e ec (p- alue < 0.0001) (Table 1) and s o age du a ion excep o Odo and TDa1520002 o
Fpeak and LDpeak/Apeak espec i ely. D. ala a hyb ids egis e ed he highes alues o LDpeak/Apeak
compa ed o D. o unda a hyb ids and land aces. Fou g oups o Fpeak beha iou we e obse ed:
inc ease om 0+15 days un il he end o s o age du a ion, dec ease om 0+15 days o he i s
mon hs and inc eased un il he end o s o age du a ion, no modi ica ion om 0+15 days o he i s
mon hs and inc eased un il he end o s o age du a ion and saw oo h end. As a as LDpeak/Apeak
is conce ned, he simila beha iou s, howe e he dec ease we e obse ed ins ead he inc ease in
Fpeak. The highes Fpeak alues and LDpeak/Apeak we e egis e ed gene ally a he end and beging
o s o age.
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 9 o 20
Table 1: Fpeak pa ame e o boiled yam as a ec ed by a ie al and s o age e ec s
Geno ypes
T0+15 days
1 mon h
2 mon hs
3 mon hs
4 mon hs
5 mon hs
6 mon hs
Assinaga
5.4,3
nd
6.5,3
8.5,2
9.1,12
10.2,1
nd
Assou a
7.9,12
nd
8.5,12
7.2,2
7.6,12
8.7,1
nd
Baka o
5.6,4
nd
6.4,34
7.4,23
7.7,2
10.0,1
nd
Kpèguèlèhoun
4.5,3
5.3,23
6.5,12
7.4,1
7.8,1
7.9,1
nd
Makpa Tolaha
6.3,2
nd
5.9,2
6.9,2
8.9,1
8.3,1
nd
Odo
6.1,1
6.2,1
nd
nd
nd
nd
nd
TDa1508044
3.8,12
2.5,2
4.2,12
4.3,12
4.7,1
5.4,1
4.7,1
TDa1510043
3.0,2
4.6,2
3.1,2
5.6,1
4.0,12
4.2,12
3.7,2
TDa1510119
2.8,2
5.3,1
5.2,1
3.4,12
5.4,1
2.9,2
2.4,2
TDa1515030
3.9,3
4.2,23
5.2,123
5.9,1
5.9,12
3.8,3
3.8,3
TDa1520002
3.0,2
2.8,2
4.8,12
3.4,2
3.2,2
2.8,2
5.9,1
TDa1520008
3.6,2
4.2,12
4.1,12
5.1,12
3.7,12
5.8,1
3.8,12
TD 1000344 (Ido o)
6.5,2
nd
6.7,2
5.5,3
8.7,1
8.2,1
nd
TD 1443002
5.0,3
6.5,2
5.1,23
6.3,23
6.3,23
8.9,1
nd
TD 8902665
6.1,2
nd
5.5,2
6.5,2
6.2,2
8.0,1
nd
TD A5-2003
5.1,3
5.1,3
6.0,23
5.6,3
7.0,12
7.6,1
nd
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 16 o 20
3.3 E ec o s o age du a ion on pounded yam
ex ensibili y
Ex ensibili y was a ec ed by geno ype and s o age pe iod. Fo he mos o geno ypes, he ex ensibili y
showed saw oo h ends; i inc eased a he i s pe iod, hen dec eased and inc eased once again
(Assinaga, Baka o, Kpèguèlèhoun e c). Comap ed o ini ial pe iod, D. ala a hyb ids highligh ed an
inc ease o hei ex ensibili y a he six h mon h han D. o unda a ones. Howe e , hey eco ded he
lowes ex ensibili y h oughou he s o age du a ion wi h some o hem (TDa1508044, TDa1520008
and TDa1515030) eaching an accep able ex ensibili y a i e and six mon hs. The op imal h eshold o
ex ensibili y is ep esen ed by a alue abo e 3.38 mm (g een colou ), he accep able h eshold is
indica ed by an ex ensibili y > 2.77 and < 3.38 mm (yellow colou ) while a low h eshold s ands o an
ex ensibili y < 2.77 mm ( ed colou ) (Table 5). Only he geno ypes belonging o D. o unda a species
egis e ed he op imal h eshold o ex ensibili y.
3.4 E ec o s o age on senso y desc ip o s o pounded
yam a ha es ime o ou h mon h o s o age
The senso y mapping o pounded yam om ha es ime, e ealed ha F1 and F2 axis ga he ed 97.72%
o in o ma ion on pounded yam desc ip o s (Figu e 1). Mo eo e , as a as senso y desc ip o s o
ex ensibili y, so ness and swee ness a e conce ned, wo g oups o geno ypes we e dis inguished. The
i s one comp ised D. o unda a geno ypes which we e associa ed o he desc ip o s ex ensible and
swee while he second g oup was made o D. ala a geno ypes, associa ed o he so ness o pounded
yam (Figu e 1). A ou h mon h o s o age, he senso y mapping pe o med showed ha all D.
o unda a geno ypes we e in he same dial and we e associa ed o he h ee desc ip o s Ex ensible,
So and Swee . All D. ala a geno ypes in ol ed in his es we e associa ed o none desc ip o wi h F1
and F2 axis ga he ing 99.3% o in o ma ion on pounded yam (Figu e 2).
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 17 o 20
Table 5: Pounded yam ex ensibili y (mm) as a ec ed by s o age du a ion
Geno ypes
0+15 days
1 mon h
2 mon hs
3 mon hs
4 mon hs
5 mon hs
6 mon hs
Assinaga
3.9bc
4.4ab
3.1d
3.5cd
3.7cd
4.7a
_
Assou a
5.8a
3.7d
5.5ab
4.6c
3.8d
5.2b
_
Baka o
4.6ab
5.0a
4.5ab
3.6c
2.8d
4.2bc
_
Kpèguèlèhoun
2.0c
2.7b
2.3bc
2.4bc
2.4bc
3.3a
_
Makpa Tolaha
3.1b
3.4b
3.4b
4.6a
2.9b
5.1a
_
Odo
4.5a
4.3a
_
_
_
_
_
TDa1508044
1.8c
1.4c
2.6ab
1.6c
1.8c
2.3b
2.8a
TDa1510043
1.2c
1.7b
1.1c
1.3c
1.2c
2.6a
2.6a
TDa1510119
1.2cd
1.1d
1.3cd
1.6bc
1.5bcd
1.7ab
2.1a
TDa1515030
1.2d
1.2d
2.2b
1.7bc
1.6cd
3.0a
2.7a
TDa1520002
1.0bc
0.7c
0.8bc
1.1bc
1.2b
2.4a
2.1a
TDa1520008
1.0a
1.5ab
2.0bc
2.1c
1.8bc
3.1d
2.7d
TD 1000344 (Ido o)
3.6b
4.0b
5.1a
3.6b
3.2b
3.8b
_
TD 1443002
3.1b
4.2a
3.2b
4.3a
3.3b
3.4b
_
TD 8902665
3.5b
4.2a
2.7c
3.4b
2.8c
4.7a
_
TD A5-2003
2.3c
3.6b
4.5a
2.9bc
3.4b
4.5a
_
p- alue
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
< 0.0001
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 18 o 20
G een colo : op imal h eshold
Yellow colo : accep able h eshold
Red colo : below accep able h eshold
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 19 o 20
Figu e 1: Senso y mapping o pounded yam om geno ypes a ha es ime
Figu e 2: Senso y mapping o pounded yam om geno ypes a ou h mon h o s o age
Ex ensible
So
Swee
Mè chassa
Assinaga Assou a
Baka o
kpèguèlèhoun
Makpa olaha
Odo
TDa1508044
TDa1510043
TDa1510119
TDa1515030
TDa1520002
TDa1520008
TD 1000344
(Ido o)
TD 1443002
TD 8902665
TD A5-2003
-2,5
-2
-1,5
-1
-0,5
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
-2 -1,5 -1 -0,5 00,5 11,5 22,5 3
F2 (32.86 %)
F1 (64.86 %)
Biplo (axes F1 & F2 : 97.72 %)
Va iables ac i es Obse a ions ac i es
Ex ensible
So
Swee
Assinag
a
Assou a
Baka o
kpèguèlèhoun
Makpa olaha
TDa1508044
TDa1510043
TDa1510119
TDa1515030
TDa1520002
TDa1520008
TD 1000344 (Ido o)
TD 1443002
TD 8902665
TD A5-2003
-2
-1,5
-1
-0,5
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
-2 -1 0123
F2 (10.46 %)
F1 (88.84 %)
Biplo (axes F1 & F2 : 99.30 %)
Va iables ac i es Obse a ions ac i es
RTB oodomics Pe iod 1 Ins i u e Repo Page 20 o 20
4 CONCLUSION
S o age conside ably impac ed/changed he quali y o boiled and pounded yam om geno ypes. Di e en
beha iou s we e obse ed, sugges ing p omising capabili y o yam geno ypes s udied. Some a ie ies like
Laboko which is highly app ecia ed o he quali y did no s o e o long pe iod while o he s o ed be e wi h
inc easing, saw oo h o updown ood quali y. This aises he p oblem o he abili y o some geno ypes o be
s o ed o gua an eeing he a ailabili y o he mos liked yam de i a i es all he yea ound. I is he e o e an
impo an issue, and e en mo e so a p io i y o b eeding p og ammes.
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