Fresh spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves contain high concentrations of beneficial phytochemicals. How-ever, spinach does not store well and is highly perishable especially during handling and post-harvest storage. In this study, we investigated the effect of pre-harvest root-treatment of spinach with Ascophyllum nodosum extract (ANE) at different concentrations (0, 0.1, 1.0, or 5.0 g L−1) on post-harvest quality of fresh-cut spinach over a 35-day storage period. At the time of harvest there was no significant differ-ence in dry weight, chlorophyll, ascorbate and lipid peroxidation between ANE-treated and non-treated plants. However, the loss in fresh weight and visual quality (color and turgor) of spinach leaves during storage was reduced by pre-harvest application of ANE. Lipid peroxidation was significantly reduced in ANE-treated leaves. The total chlorophyll content and ascorbate content in the control and treated leaves was however identical over the storage period and decreased at a similar rate. A negative correlation was observed between visual quality and lipid peroxidation. The results show that pre-harvest ANE applica-tion through root drench, especially at 1.0 g L−1, enhanced post-harvest storage quality of spinach leaves.
![A screen grab of the first page of the academic publication on Pre-Harvest Treatment Of Spinach With Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract](https://images.prismic.io/acadian-plant-health/4f03004f-fe73-4de9-9e04-eec4b7ee8a49_Pre-Harvest+Treatment+Of+Spinach+With+Ascophyllum+Nodosum+Extract+Improves+Post-Harvest+Storage+And+Quality.png?auto=compress,format)
February 27, 2014 / ArticleRead Document