Open AccessEffect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Quality of S wiss Chard at Harvest and during Storage as Minimally Processed Produce
Author(s) -
Miceli Alessandro,
Miceli Claudia
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of food quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.568
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1745-4557
pISSN - 0146-9428
DOI - 10.1111/jfq.12073
Subject(s) - ascorbic acid , nitrogen , yield (engineering) , human fertilization , chemistry , dry matter , horticulture , food science , nitrate , raw material , agronomy , biology , materials science , organic chemistry , metallurgy
The effects of different levels of nitrogen fertilization (0–50–100–150–200 kg/ha), minimal processing and cold storage (14 days at 4 C ) on yield and quality of fresh‐cut S wiss chard ( B eta vulgaris L . var. cicla L .) were evaluated. Increasing the level of nitrogen fertilization over 100 kg N /ha, plants had a higher fresh weight, reduced their dry matter content and resulted taller and leafier. Total and marketable yield increased linearly with increasing nitrogen level. Both nitrate and ascorbic acid content at harvest increased with increasing nitrogen supply. Nitrogen fertilization negatively affected the yield of minimal processing. No effect on appearance and quality loss during cold storage was detected. R educing nitrogen fertilization could lead to a more environmentally friendly product with no significant loss in yield and quality both for raw plant and fresh‐cut S wiss chard. Minimal processing can improve nutritional quality lowering nitrates and increasing ascorbic acid content in fresh‐cut produce. Practical Applications Minimally processed vegetables have gained a lot of interest among consumers as they are easy to use and ready to eat. Leafy vegetables are the most widespread among fresh‐cut produce. In order to increase the yield and the quality of leafy crops, farmers often supply great amounts of nitrogen fertilizers. Overdoses of nitrogen may negatively affect environment and nutritional quality of raw and minimally processed vegetables. This study focused on the assessment of the dose of nitrogen that can be more environmentally friendly and can assure to the industry of minimal processing, the best quality of raw S wiss chard and the retaining of good quality during storage. The reduction of nitrogen fertilization may lead to a reduction in nitrate content of the plants and, if associated to minimal processing, determines an improvement of the nutritional quality of fresh‐cut S wiss chard.