Effect of Compost Extract Addition to Different Types of Fertilizers on Quality at Harvest and Shelf Life of Spinach

Abstract

Spinach is rich in minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and bioactive compounds with health-beneficial effects; however, this plant also tends to accumulate oxalates and nitrates in their leaves. Apart from genotype, nutrition is the pre-harvest factor that mostly affects quality attributes at harvest. Particularly, the application of compost extracts (CE) may induce resistance against soil-borne diseases and favour secondary metabolism, increasing antioxidant capacity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different types of fertilization with or without the addition of CE, on harvest quality and shelf life of minimally processed spinach (Spinacia oleracea, var. Shrike RZ) stored during 12 days at 4 °C. A compost extract (CE) was prepared by mixing a compost from agri-food wastes (vine pruning, leek waste and olive mill waste) with deionized water. CE foliar applications were done from days 28 and 56 after sowing. The treatments applied were: Control; Control + CE; NPK (inorganic NPK fertilizer 15-15-15); NPK + CE; DMPP (ENTEC Nitrofoska® plus the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP)) and DMPP + CE. After harvest, spinach leaves were minimally processed and packaged to generate a passive modified atmosphere. Nitrate content in the control treatment was reduced by the addition of CE, although in the rest of the treatments, CE addition did not produce any effect. For nitrite contents, the lowest value was obtained for the Control + CE. Moreover, the oxalate content was the lowest for the control treatment with a decreasing trend throughout the storage. The treatment Control + CE also showed the highest initial total phenolic contents, with very similar values at the end of shelf life to those observed at harvest for all the treatments. The highest differences in color as regards the initial values were detected for DMPP. Microbial loads increased for all the treatments without differences between them. The atmosphere reached at the end of the cold storage was the same for all the cases, with CO2 and O2 around 10 kPa for each one of them. After 12 days at 4 °C, all the treatments were above the limit of usability, with the spinach leaves acceptable for consumption. The results found in this study indicate that the addition of CE might be convenient for obtaining spinach rich in bioactive compounds and with low concentrations of antinutritional factors, without affecting the microbial load of the final product.

Biodegradable Food Packaging of Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. [DC.]) and Sea Fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) Grown in a Cascade Cropping System for Short Food Supply Chain

“…It is known that values over 7 log CFU g −1 for mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria can be associated with a shorter shelf-life of fresh-cut vegetables. In our experiments, and independently of the treatments and of the crop, values above those mentioned were not found in any case, as reported by Giménez et al [38].…”

“…It is known that values over 7 log CFU g −1 for mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria can be associated with a shorter shelf-life of fresh-cut vegetables. In our experiments, and independently of the treatments and of the crop, values above those mentioned were not found in any case, as reported by Giménez et al [38]. Results for sea fennel indicated a significant interaction among leachates, packaging, and storage for mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria and yeasts and moulds.…”

“…This would lead to the onset of symptoms of tissue degradation and appearance of off-odours [40]. In contrast, atmospheric air leads to senescence and loss of green colour [38]. The MAP obtained in our experiments was appropriate for keeping flavour in both PLA and OPP bags.…”

Fabrication and design of poly(l‐lactic acid) membrane for passive MAP packaging of Brassica chinensis L

“…The peak value of nitrite in PLD 1.8 L‐packed vegetables was 52% lower than that in the control and PLLA groups. It has been proven that low‐temperature storage and adequate passive atmosphere packaging can greatly decrease the nitrite content in vegetables (Giménez et al., 2021; Mu et al., 2020).…”

Combined effect of an agro-industrial compost and light spectra composition on yield and phytochemical profile in mizuna and pak choi microgreens

“…This alternative has given increases of yield and nutritional quality on crops e.g. baby lettuces and even biopesticide effect against the pathogen Pythium ultimum [ 10 ], converting compost as a friendly alternative to be used. However, the use of agro-industrial compost as a growing medium in the production of microgreens is little studied, and the use of waste from the agri-food industry after composting (compost) could be a choice to produce microgreens.…”