Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket
Plant growth regulators are used in high-value vegetable crops during cultivation and after harvest to increase yield, enhance crop management, and improve or retain the produce quality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality characteristics during cold storage of minimally processed leaf...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/5/3/63 |
| _version_ | 1819113842782765056 |
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| author | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Leo Sabatino Fabio D’Anna Alessandra Moncada |
| author_facet | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Leo Sabatino Fabio D’Anna Alessandra Moncada |
| author_sort | Alessandro Miceli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant growth regulators are used in high-value vegetable crops during cultivation and after harvest to increase yield, enhance crop management, and improve or retain the produce quality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality characteristics during cold storage of minimally processed leaf lettuce and rocket, obtained from plants grown in a hydroponic floating system with mineral nutrient solutions (MNS) containing different levels of gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>). Plants were grown in greenhouse conditions on nutrient solutions containing 0, 10<sup>−8</sup>, and 10<sup>−6</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub>. At harvest, lettuce and rocket were immediately processed as fresh-cut vegetables and stored for 21 d at 4 °C. After processing, weight loss, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and nitrate content, leaf color characteristics, and overall quality were evaluated. Adding 10<sup>−6</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub> to the MNS of a floating system significantly increased the yield of leaf lettuce and rocket plants and of minimally-processed leaves. In addition, preharvest GA<sub>3</sub> treatments had positive effects on delaying senescence and enhancing shelf-life of minimally processed lettuce and rocket. The slowed senescence of GA<sub>3</sub>-treated samples maintained an overall quality over the threshold of marketability in both lettuce and rocket for up to 21 d of cold storage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:35:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e5f6264670746c1a4166f1281545c0f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:35:50Z |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e5f6264670746c1a4166f1281545c0f2022-12-21T18:38:53ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242019-09-01536310.3390/horticulturae5030063horticulturae5030063Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and RocketAlessandro Miceli0Filippo Vetrano1Leo Sabatino2Fabio D’Anna3Alessandra Moncada4Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, ItalyPlant growth regulators are used in high-value vegetable crops during cultivation and after harvest to increase yield, enhance crop management, and improve or retain the produce quality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality characteristics during cold storage of minimally processed leaf lettuce and rocket, obtained from plants grown in a hydroponic floating system with mineral nutrient solutions (MNS) containing different levels of gibberellic acid (GA<sub>3</sub>). Plants were grown in greenhouse conditions on nutrient solutions containing 0, 10<sup>−8</sup>, and 10<sup>−6</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub>. At harvest, lettuce and rocket were immediately processed as fresh-cut vegetables and stored for 21 d at 4 °C. After processing, weight loss, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and nitrate content, leaf color characteristics, and overall quality were evaluated. Adding 10<sup>−6</sup> M GA<sub>3</sub> to the MNS of a floating system significantly increased the yield of leaf lettuce and rocket plants and of minimally-processed leaves. In addition, preharvest GA<sub>3</sub> treatments had positive effects on delaying senescence and enhancing shelf-life of minimally processed lettuce and rocket. The slowed senescence of GA<sub>3</sub>-treated samples maintained an overall quality over the threshold of marketability in both lettuce and rocket for up to 21 d of cold storage.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/5/3/63postharvestminimally processed vegetablesgibberellic acidGA<sub>3</sub>hydroponicsfloating systemleafy vegetablesleaf lettucerocketnitrate contentascorbic acidshelf life |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Miceli Filippo Vetrano Leo Sabatino Fabio D’Anna Alessandra Moncada Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket Horticulturae postharvest minimally processed vegetables gibberellic acid GA<sub>3</sub> hydroponics floating system leafy vegetables leaf lettuce rocket nitrate content ascorbic acid shelf life |
| title | Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket |
| title_full | Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket |
| title_short | Influence of Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatments on Postharvest Quality of Minimally Processed Leaf Lettuce and Rocket |
| title_sort | influence of preharvest gibberellic acid treatments on postharvest quality of minimally processed leaf lettuce and rocket |
| topic | postharvest minimally processed vegetables gibberellic acid GA<sub>3</sub> hydroponics floating system leafy vegetables leaf lettuce rocket nitrate content ascorbic acid shelf life |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/5/3/63 |
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