scholarly journals Gastrophysics: Nudging consumers toward eating more leafy (salad) greens

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 103800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Spence
Keyword(s):  
Salad Greens

scholarly journals Production of Baby-leaf Salad Greens in the Spring and Fall Seasons of Northwest Washington

HortScience ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1467-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlene M. Grahn ◽  
Chris Benedict ◽  
Tom Thornton ◽  
Carol Miles
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Yield Stability ◽  
Eruca Sativa ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Planting Dates ◽  
Pak Choi ◽  
Weed Biomass ◽  
Cultivar Selection ◽  
High Level ◽  
Salad Greens

Baby-leaf salad green crops such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa), kale (Brassica oleracea), arugula (Eruca sativa), and mustard greens (Brassica juncea) thrive in the cool, humid climate of the maritime Pacific Northwest, particularly in the extended spring and fall seasons. To identify cultivars best suited for extended-season production in northwest Washington, nine leafy green cultivars were grown at two locations in the spring and fall seasons for 2 years. A high level of variability in crop performance was observed between seasons, locations, years, planting dates, and cultivars, indicating low-yield stability in baby-leaf salad crops across diverse environments and conditions. Overall, cultivars had a higher marketable weight in the spring than in the fall. Marketable weight was higher in Spring 2013 than in Spring 2014, and was higher in Fall 2013 than in Fall 2012. Days to harvest (DTH) were shorter in the spring than in the fall both years, and in both seasons DTH varied by ≈1 week between the two trial locations. Fresh weed biomass was almost 5.5 times higher in spring than in fall both years. Overall, pak choi ‘Joi Choi’ and mustard ‘Komatsuna’ had the highest marketable weight, lowest DTH, and lowest weed biomass across the widest range of environments and conditions, while beet ‘Bull’s Blood’ had the lowest marketable weight, relatively long DTH and highest weed biomass. These results suggest that baby-leaf salad crop cultivar selection differs for spring and fall seasons, and production can be highly variable between years and locations. Further, results suggest that growers should plant a diversity of crop cultivars each season to protect from crop loss and to achieve overall yield stability.

scholarly journals Nutrition by Design: Boosting Selenium Content and Fresh Matter Yields of Salad Greens With Preharvest Light Intensity and Selenium Applications

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xudong Zhu ◽  
Tianbao Yang ◽  
Charles A. Sanchez ◽  
Jeffrey M. Hamilton ◽  
Jorge M. Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Fresh Matter ◽  
Light Reduction ◽  
Growing Medium ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Basin Region ◽  
Salad Greens ◽  
Se Uptake ◽  
Effect Of Light

Selenium (Se) is an essential mineral in multiple human metabolic pathways with immune modulatory effects on viral diseases including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and HIV. Plant-based foods contain Se metabolites with unique functionalities for the human metabolism. In order to assess the value of common salad greens as Se source, we conducted a survey of lettuce commercially grown in 15 locations across the USA and Canada and found a tendency for Se to accumulate higher (up to 10 times) in lettuce grown along the Colorado river basin region, where the highest amount of annual solar radiation of the country is recorded. In the same area, we evaluated the effect of sunlight reduction on the Se content of two species of arugula [Eruca sativa (E. sativa) cv. “Astro” and Diplotaxis tenuifolia (D. tenuifolia) cv. “Sylvetta”]. A 90% light reduction during the 7 days before harvest resulted in over one-third Se decline in D. tenuifolia. The effect of light intensity on yield and Se uptake of arugula microgreens was also examined under indoor controlled conditions. This included high intensity (HI) (160 μ mol−2 s−1 for 12 h/12 h light/dark); low intensity (LI) (70 μ mol m−2 s−1 for 12 h/12 h light/dark); and HI-UVA (12 h light of 160 μ mol m−2 s−1, 2 h UVA of 40 μ mol m−2 s−1, and 10 h dark) treatments in a factorial design with 0, 1, 5, and 10 ppm Se in the growing medium. HI and HI-UVA produced D. tenuifolia plants with 25–100% higher Se content than LI, particularly with the two higher Se doses. The addition of Se produced a marked increase in fresh matter (>35% in E. sativa and >45% in D. tenuifolia). This study (i) identifies evidence to suggest the revision of food composition databases to account for large Se variability, (ii) demonstrates the potential of introducing preharvest Se to optimize microgreen yields, and (iii) provides the controlled environment industry with key information to deliver salad greens with targeted Se contents.

Hydroponic production of selected crops.

2021 ◽  
pp. 196-228
Author(s):  
Lynette Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Plant Density ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Greenhouse Production ◽  
Specialty Crops ◽  
Leafy Greens ◽  
Crop Nutrition ◽  
Protected Cultivation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Postharvest Handling ◽  
Salad Greens

Abstract While there is a wide range of potentially profitable crops which can be grown in hydroponics under protected cultivation, greenhouse production is dominated by fruiting crops such as tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum and strawberries, and vegetative species such as lettuce, salad and leafy greens, herbs and specialty crops like microgreens. This chapter summarizes information on a selected range of common hydroponic crops to give basic procedures for each and an outline of the systems of production. These crops include tomato, capsicum or sweet bell pepper, cucumber, lettuce and other salad greens, strawberry and rose. Information is given on their hydroponic production systems and environment, propagation, plant density, pruning, pollination, fruit growth, crop nutrition, pests, diseases, disorders, harvesting and postharvest handling.

Hydroponic production of selected crops.

2021 ◽  
pp. 196-228
Author(s):  
Lynette Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Plant Density ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Greenhouse Production ◽  
Specialty Crops ◽  
Leafy Greens ◽  
Crop Nutrition ◽  
Protected Cultivation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Postharvest Handling ◽  
Salad Greens

Abstract While there is a wide range of potentially profitable crops which can be grown in hydroponics under protected cultivation, greenhouse production is dominated by fruiting crops such as tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum and strawberries, and vegetative species such as lettuce, salad and leafy greens, herbs and specialty crops like microgreens. This chapter summarizes information on a selected range of common hydroponic crops to give basic procedures for each and an outline of the systems of production. These crops include tomato, capsicum or sweet bell pepper, cucumber, lettuce and other salad greens, strawberry and rose. Information is given on their hydroponic production systems and environment, propagation, plant density, pruning, pollination, fruit growth, crop nutrition, pests, diseases, disorders, harvesting and postharvest handling.

Using ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to control slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in salad greens in the laboratory and greenhouse

2014 ◽  
Vol 146 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Renkema ◽  
G.C. Cutler ◽  
D. Blanchard ◽  
A. Hammermeister
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Early Season ◽  
Crop Pests ◽  
The Third ◽  
Green Production ◽  
Pterostichus Melanarius ◽  
Salad Greens

AbstractGround beetles common in temperate agroecosystems are predators of crop pests, including slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata). Salad green production in greenhouses during autumn and spring can be limited by damage due to slugs and other pests. Introducing ground beetles to greenhouses may help reduce damage and improve yields. In the laboratory, while arenas with only slugs produced nearly no harvestable leaves, the presence of Carabus nemoralis Müller (Coleoptera: Carabidae) increased the number and weight of harvestable leaves to 55% of the amount in control arenas (without slugs or beetles), in addition to reducing the number of slugs. In a second experiment, adult or second-instar Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were released into greenhouse mesocosms (75 cm diameter steel rings) containing salad greens and slugs. Neither adults nor larvae improved the number or weight of harvestable leaves at the first two harvests, and there was no evidence of slug consumption. Towards the end of the experiment cutworms were common in the mesocosms and contributed to damaging salad greens. Adult P. melanarius likely consumed some cutworms, resulting in small increases in salad green yields at the third harvest. Our results suggest that ground beetles should be further examined as part of an integrated approach to pest control in late and early season salad green production in greenhouses.

scholarly journals Varying Plant Density and Harvest Time to Optimize Cowpea Leaf Yield and Nutrient Content

HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy A. Ohler ◽  
S. Suzanne Nielsen ◽  
Cary A. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Harvest Time ◽  
Total Dietary Fiber ◽  
Yield Efficiency ◽  
Leaf Yield ◽  
Salad Greens ◽  
Efficiency Rate

Plant density and harvest time were manipulated to optimize vegetative (foliar) productivity of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] canopies for future dietary use in controlled ecological life-support systems as vegetables or salad greens. Productivity was measured as total shoot and edible dry weights (DW), edible yield rate [(EYR) grams DW per square meter per day], shoot harvest index [(SHI) grams DW per edible gram DW total shoot], and yield-efficiency rate [(YER) grams DW edible per square meter per day per grams DW nonedible]. Cowpeas were grown in a greenhouse for leaf-only harvest at 14, 28, 42, 56, 84, or 99 plants/m2 and were harvested 20, 30, 40, or 50 days after planting (DAP). Shoot and edible dry weights increased as plant density and time to harvest increased. A maximum of 1189 g shoot DW/m2 and 594 g edible DW/m2 were achieved at an estimated plant density of 85 plants/m2 and harvest 50 DAP. EYR also increased as plant density and time to harvest increased. An EYR of 11 g·m–2·day–1 was predicted to occur at 86 plants/m2 and harvest 50 DAP. SHI and YER were not affected by plant density. However, the highest values of SHI (64%) and YER (1.3 g·m–2·day–1·g–1) were attained when cowpeas were harvested 20 DAP. The average fat and ash contents [dry-weight basis (dwb)] of harvested leaves remained constant regardless of harvest time. Average protein content increased from 25% DW at 30 DAP to 45% DW at 50 DAP. Carbohydrate content declined from 50% DW at 30 DAP to 45% DW at 50 DAP. Total dietary fiber content (dwb) of the leaves increased from 19% to 26% as time to harvest increased from 20 to 50 days.

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