High CO2 and low temperatures help to maintain the initial firmness of asparagus

The fleshy spears of white asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) are ?developmental immature, rapidly growing? subterraneous shoots. After harvest they retain their physiological activity leading to a rapid decline of respiratory substrates. The unaltered continuation of shoot differentiation also includes thickening and lignification of cell walls of both sclerenchyma sheath cells and vascular bundles. The spears become fibrous and tough which is highly undesired in horticulture. Low temperatures and high CO2 may reduce the spears? physiological activity. Storage at low temperature and/or controlled atmosphere (CA) is therefore used for maintaining textural properties of spears. However, the effects of these parameters on the dynamic interactions of short-term changes in texture and chemical cell wall properties, and soluble carbohydrates of white asparagus have not yet been comprehensively investigated. Temperature- and high CO2-mediated effects on solved (glucose, fructose, sucrose) and structural carbohydrates (cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectins), lignin content, variations in stiffness and toughness as well as water status and respiration of white asparagus spears were investigated to characterise the physiological and biochemical bases of the potential modifications in white asparagus spears stored under water vapour saturated conditions for up to seven days. Respiration slightly declined during the entire storage period irrespective of the CO2 - and temperature regime. In contrast, high CO2-concentrations and low temperatures inhibited both the degradation of soluble carbohydrates and the synthesis? of cellulose and lignin, thus partially maintaining initial tissue toughness. The dynamics of cellulose and lignin content was always identical. The relative ratio of cell wall and soluble carbohydrates was more or less constant indicating that soluble sugars were mainly used for growth and not for respiration. The interaction of soluble and structural carbohydrates with biochemical and mechanical cell wall properties will also be discussed in terms of optimizing postharvest technologies to product physiological concerns. Original title, information about the authors, and source:Effects of Postharvest Treatment on the Chemical Properties of Cell Walls and their Influence on the Texture of White Asparagus SpearsHerppich, W. B.1; Huyskens-Keil, S.21Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim, Department of Horticultural Engineering, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469, Potsdam, Germany2Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Department of Crop and Husbandry Science, Section Quality Dynamics/Postharvest Physiology of Horticultural Crops, Lentze-Allee, GermanyInternational Horticulture Congress, Lisboa 2010, ISHS The picture is a recipe with asparagus confited with arabic coffe, by http://facyre.com/ ? ? ?