Seasonal and temporal changes during storage affect quality attributes of green asparagus

• Published in: Postharvest biology and technology Vol. 159; p. 111017
• Main Authors: Anastasiadi, Maria, Collings, Emma R., Shivembe, Allan, Qian, Binghua, Terry, Leon A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2020; Elsevier BV; Elsevier
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Abscisic acid (ABA); Ascorbic acid; Asparagus; Biosynthesis; Catabolites; cell respiration; Cold storage; color; Cultivar; Cultivars; Cutting energy; Cuttings; energy; Energy measurement; Energy storage; harvest date; Harvesting; linear models; Maintenance; metabolites; perennials; phaseic acid; prediction; Quality management; seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Shelf life; Spears; Stiffness; Storage; Storage life; storage time; Sucrose; Sugar; sugar content; Sugars; texture; Vegetables; United Kingdom > UK; Storage; Abscisic acid (ABA); Sugars; Cultivar
• ISSN: 0925-5214; 1873-2356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2019.111017

•Favourable conditions at harvest lowered ABA and increased total sugar content.•Low ABA in spears at harvest reduced rate of senescence during storage.•Shift in sugar metabolism associated with changes in light and temperature.•Storage time had a negative impact on spear texture and sugar content. Asparagus is a perennial crop with a short UK harvest season. Methods to extend the storage life of asparagus have proven difficult. To gain insight into the physiological (viz. colour, respiration rate, cutting energy, and stiffness measured using laser Doppler vibrometry), and biochemical (viz. sugars, ascorbic acid, and abscisic acid and its catabolites) changes throughout the UK season, two cultivars were harvested weekly and stored under shelf life conditions (7 °C). Results were compared to spears (plus one additional cultivar) cold stored (1 °C) for three weeks followed by one week of shelf life. Concentrations of sugar, abscisic acid (ABA) and catabolites at harvest were subject to seasonal variation, directly affecting storage potential. A generalised linear model with stepwise feature selection was applied to select the most important parameters for the prediction of total sugars and phaseic acid (PA). More favourable growing conditions at harvest increased sugars and lowered ABA content and catabolites, which coincided with better maintenance of spear quality during storage; including maintaining textural characteristics. Storage time had a negative impact on spear texture and sugar content, with cutting energy increasing and stiffness decreasing both during cold storage and subsequent shelf life. A partial shift in sugar biosynthesis occurred during shelf life increasing sucrose concentrations. Results suggest that the temporal flux in ABA and catabolites, and individual sugars could be used to model storage potential of asparagus spears.