Covering cauliflower curds during growth reduces floret flavonoids and improves quality.
Thomas, D. S.; Turner, D. W.; Tan, S. C.;
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science Year: 1992 Vol: 20 Issue: 2 Pages: 147-151 Ref: 11 ref.
1992
บทคัดย่อ
Cauliflower curds are of better quality, and therefore more marketable, when they are white and free from blemishes. As the production of pigments in plants can be stimulated by exposure to light, cauliflower curds (cultivars Arfak, Plana and Ravella) were covered with either their leaves or Tyvek, a spunbounded olefin material, during curd growth to minimize the light transmitted. In a spectrophotometer, Tyvek and leaves transmitted <1% of light, as compared with deionized water, over the spectral range 200-800 nm. In a field experiment at Medina, Western Australia, covered curds were whiter and had 20% (Tyvek) or 40% (leaves) of the concentration of flavonoids in the florets (estimated by absorbance at 366 nm) of the curds grown without covers. The carotenoid concentration did not differ significantly (P >0.05) between covered and uncovered curds. Under the conditions of the field experiment, management of curd quality required pre-harvest protection from light to reduce flavonoid production.
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