Microgreens are an emerging functional food crop with promise for sustainably diversifying global food systems, facilitating adaptations to urbanization and global climate change, and promoting human health. Previous work suggests microgreens have high nutritional quality, low environmental impacts, and broad consumer acceptance. For better reception into the global food system and increased per capita consumption, research is needed to elucidate consumer acceptance of various microgreens species, including factors contributing to their acceptance or lack thereof. Using a consumer panel (n = 99), this study evaluated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull's blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens species received high mean liking scores for acceptability by consumers (means ranged from highly acceptable to slightly acceptable), with more distinct differences across microgreens species for flavor and overall acceptability, which appeared to be driven by specific sensory properties. Data from principal component analysis demonstrated that high acceptability scores were associated with higher intent to purchase microgreens and negatively associated with food neophobia. Participants indicated that factors such as knowledge and familiarity of microgreens, cost, access/availability, freshness/shelf life, among other factors, influence their intention to purchase microgreens. These findings suggest that further integration of microgreens into the global food system will be met with high consumer acceptability, but needs to be aligned with enhanced consumer education regarding microgreens, as well as considerations of cost, availability/access, and freshness/shelf life.Practical Application: Researchers investigated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull's blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens tested had high consumer acceptability, but certain factors such as sensory perception and food neophobia impacted their acceptability. Additionally, participants indicated that factors such as knowledge, access and availability, cost, freshness, and shelf life may impact the purchasing of microgreens and thus are important factors to consider for further integration of this emerging functional food crop into the global food system.

Background Microgreens are the young leafy greens of many vegetables, herbs, grains, and flowers with potential to promote human health and sustainably diversify the global food system. For successful further integration into the global food system and evaluation of their health impacts, it is critical to elucidate and optimize their nutritional quality. Objective We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the metabolite and mineral contents of six microgreens species, and the influence of maturity on their contents. Methods Plant species evaluated were from the Brassicaceae (arugula, broccoli, and red cabbage), Amaranthaceae (red beet and red amaranth), and Fabaceae (pea) plant families. Non-targeted metabolomics and ionomics analyses were performed to examine the metabolites and minerals, respectively, in each microgreen species and its mature counterpart. Results Non-targeted metabolomics analysis detected 3,321 compounds, 1,263 of which were annotated and included nutrients and bioactive compounds. Ionomics analysis detected and quantified 26 minerals including macrominerals, trace minerals, ultratrace minerals, and other metals. Principal component analysis indicated microgreens have distinct metabolite and mineral profiles compared with one another and with their mature counterparts. Several compounds were higher (p < 0.05; fold change ≥ 2) in microgreens compared to their mature counterpart, while some were unchanged or lower. In many cases, compounds that were higher in microgreens compared to the mature counterpart were also unique to that microgreen species. Conclusions These data provide evidence for the nutritional quality of microgreens, and can inform future research and development aimed at characterizing and optimizing microgreen nutritional quality and health impacts.

In arid and semiarid areas, an increase in water demand has forced urban planners to use alternative water resources for turfgrass irrigation. In this study, the soil chemical properties of push-up greens and fairways on two golf courses that use either effluent water or fresh water were compared. The study was conducted on two golf courses in Wyoming. Golf Course A started to use effluent water for irrigation in 2007 while Golf Course B has always used fresh water. From 2003 to 2013, a total of 238 soil samples of greens (104 from Golf Course A and 134 from Golf Course B) were collected, and 90 soil samples (45 from Golf Course A and 45 from Golf Course B)were collected from fairways. The soil analyses showed that many changes occurred over time due to the use of effluent water irrigation. After 6 yr of using effluent water, soil electrical conductivity (EC) increased but remained well below the critical threshold levels for turf , whereas soil pH increased by 0.42 units. From 2007 to 2012, sodium levels increased by 2-to 5-fold. The availability of micronutrients (Fe and Mn) decreased, especially on greens irrigated with effluent water. Soil phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels increased after using effluent water, which would be beneficial for turfgrass and lower fertilization requirements.