Work

The Effect of Light Intensity during Cultivation and Postharvest Storage on Mustard and Kale Microgreen Quality

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Microgreens are vegetable greens that are harvested early while they are still immature and have just developed cotyledons. One of the disadvantages and a challenge in production is that they exhibit a short shelf life and may be damaged easily. In seeking to prolong the shelf life, some pre- and postharvest interventions have been investigated. Here, kale and mustard microgreens were grown in a controlled-environment walk-in chamber at +21/17 °C, with ~65% relative air humidity, while maintaining the spectral composition of deep red 61%, blue 20%, white 15%, and far red 4% (150, 200, and 250 µmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD)). Both microgreens seemed to exhibit specific and species-dependent responses. Higher PPFD during growth and storage in light conditions resulted in increased contents of TPC in both microgreens on D5. Additionally, 150 and 250 PPFD irradiation affected the α-tocopherol content by increasing it during postharvest storage in kale. On D0 150 for kale and 200 PPFD for mustard microgreens, β-carotene content increased. D5 for kale showed insignificant differences, while mustard responded with the highest β-carotene content, under 150 PPFD. Our findings suggest that both microgreens show beneficial outcomes when stored in light compared to dark and that mild photostress is a promising tool for nutritional value improvement and shelf-life prolongation.

Source: Antioxidants

DOI: 10.3390/antiox13091075

Authors: Ieva Gudžinskaitė, Kristina Laužikė, Audrius Pukalskas, Giedrė Samuolienė

Institution: Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry

Language: English

Topic: Light effects on plants

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,296