The Effect of the Cultivar and Harvest Term on the Yield and Nutritional Value of Rhubarb Juice

Since scientific interest in rhubarb from a culinary point of view is a relatively new issue, the aim of this study was to test five edible cultivars of <i>Rheum rhabarbarum</i> L. (‘Poncho’, ‘Canadian Red’, ‘Valentine’, ‘Red Champagne’, and ‘Victoria’) from a specific culinary perspecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ivana Mezeyová, Ján Mezey, Alena Andrejiová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/6/1244
Description
Summary:Since scientific interest in rhubarb from a culinary point of view is a relatively new issue, the aim of this study was to test five edible cultivars of <i>Rheum rhabarbarum</i> L. (‘Poncho’, ‘Canadian Red’, ‘Valentine’, ‘Red Champagne’, and ‘Victoria’) from a specific culinary perspective, i.e., processing into juice. Total yields (t/ha) were established in six harvests during a two-year field experiment. For juice production and subsequent laboratory analysis, rhubarb petioles from two different harvest terms were used (i.e., harvest term A (HTA) and harvest term B (HTB)). Analyses of total sugar, glucose, fructose, total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity, malic acid, and pH level were determined by FT-IR spectrophotometer. Total yields of petioles varied between 28.77 t/ha (‘Canadian Red’) and 45.58 t/ha (‘Red Champagne’) at a density of 11,000 pl/ha. ‘Red Champagne’ significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) reached the highest juice yield potential (85%) and the highest values of glucose (9.97 g/L), total soluble solids (4.37 g/L), and total sugars (54.96 g/L).
ISSN:2223-7747