Response of baby spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) to photoselective nettings on growth and postharvest quality

Abstract

Manipulation of microenvironments by means of photoselective nettings is widely used to improve the productivity and quality of high-value vegetables. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of photoselective nettings on growth, productivity, and postharvest quality attributes of baby spinach. Baby spinach cv. Ohio was grown from seeds, and the trial was repeated. Plants were planted in an open field (control) and under closed nets, viz., black, pearl, yellow, and red nets. At harvest, baby spinach leaves were subjected to 4, 10, and 20 °C storage temperatures for 12 days. Crops grown under black nets and stored at 4 °C retained higher level of antioxidant activity (0.23 g·kg-1), whereas the least level of antioxidant activity was observed in baby spinach grown under red and yellow shade nets (0.01 g·kg-1). Similar trend was evident with flavonoid content where baby spinach leaves grown under black nets maintained high level of flavonoids at 4, 10, and 20 °C during storage period compared with other shade nets and the control. The study control showed a better potential in retaining antioxidant activity over red and yellow shade nets. Results showed that black shade nettings have the potential to reduce water loss, decay incidents, and maintain flavonoid content and antioxidant activity followed by pearl and yellow nets.