Strawberries are a highly perishable crop with postharvest losses than reach up to 40%. Cost-effective and sustainable technologies in the form of active packing films can provide a solution. Antimicrobial packaging films were produced from pullulan polymer and Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) containing 1% w/w cinnamaldehyde. Strawberries were stored at 3 °C for 10 days and 12 °C for 6 days. Microbial and physical quality parameters were evaluated during storage. A reduction of approximately 2 Log CFU/g in yeast and mold population was observed for treated strawberries stored at 3 °C as compared to the control (p < 0.05). Yeast and molds counts were significantly lower on day 2 and 4 at 12 °C for treated samples. Strawberries packaged with the active films demonstrated lower respiration rates and the retention of bright red color at both storage temperatures. Active pullulan films were effective in maintaining the desired strawberry quality and reducing fungal decay during refrigerated storage.

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The consumer demand for locally grown fresh produce is continuously increasing in the United States. The high tunnel systems have been successfully utilized by small acreage growers for local production. Consumers are typically assessing appearance, freshness, flavor and aroma when purchasing produce. A common perception is that locally grown produce tastes better than nonlocal. However, there is not much evidence for supporting this claim. The objective of this study was to identify consumer acceptability and the sensory characteristics/differences of locally grown spinach in open field or in high tunnel and nonlocal commercially grown spinach. Spinach, Spinacia oleracea cv. “Corvair” was grown in open field and in high tunnel at Kansas State Univ. Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center (OHREC) in spring 2017 and the commercially grown spinach was purchased at a local retail store. A consumer study (n = 205) was conducted at Kansas State Univ., Olathe campus, and a descriptive sensory analysis was conducted by a highly trained descriptive analysis panel in the Center for Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior at Kansas State Univ., Manhattan campus, in spring 2017. The consumer test showed that high tunnel spinach scored significantly higher in overall liking (P < 0.0001), flavor liking (P < 0.0001), and texture liking (P < 0.05) when compared to open field and store purchased spinach. Descriptive analysis showed that locally grown spinach had higher intensity of attributes that indicate premium quality, such as green color and green/spinach flavors. Our results indicate that locally grown spinach was preferred from the consumers for its high organoleptic quality. Practical Application Locally grown spinach demonstrated high intensity in a set of sensory attributes that suggest a product with premium organoleptic quality. Correspondingly to these results, consumers liked spinach produced locally in high tunnels the most. The results of this study can be used for developing marketing strategies that are aiming specifically to the consumer niche that is seeking fresh produce of high organoleptic quality.

UV radiation plays an important role not only in plant growth and development but also in the accumulation of essential nutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals in plants. The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of supplemental UV-A, UV-B, and UV-AB on the nutritional quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa, cv. red leaf "New Red Fire" and green leaf "Two Star") and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. BHN-589) grown in a greenhouse. Supplemental UV radiation was provided by UV lamps 5 -6 days prior to harvest. Supplemental UV-A produced higher accumulation of total phenolic compounds and higher antioxidant capacity in red leaf lettuce compared to other treatments. Overall, supplemental UV-A produced a stronger response than other UV treatments and control in the accumulation of many phenolic compounds including luteolin-7-glucoside, quecetin-3-glucoside, and apigenin-3-glucoside in red leaf lettuce. However, UV-B and UV-AB had a negative response in the accumulation of many phenolic compounds including chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-glucoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, and apigenin-3-glucoside in both red and green leaf lettuce varieties. In tomato fruits, supplemental UV-A had no effect on their total phenolic concentration. However, supplemental UV-B radiation for 3 h or UV-AB radiation for 9 h exposure produced higher total phenolic concentration in the fruits compared to other supplemental UV treatments. Supplemental UV-AB (3 hexposure) was generally more effective than other UV treatments in increasing the accumulation of a number of phenolic compounds including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, chicoric acid, luteolin-7-glucoside,

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Specialty crop production in high tunnel systems has greatly expanded in the central United States. Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) may be a viable high-value crop for high tunnel growers, but fall-planted production systems have a high opportunity cost in regard to winter production space. This study investigates the feasibility of spring-planted day-neutral strawberry cultivars in a high tunnel production system in Kansas. Furthermore, the goals of this report are to identify day-neutral cultivars that are successful in this production system and investigate the utility of evaporative cooling (EC), as they relate to fruit yield and marketability as well as incidence of gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea). High tunnel trials were conducted at the Kansas State University Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center during 2014 and 2015. Six commercially available cultivars were evaluated: Albion, Evie 2, Monterey, Portola, San Andreas, and Seascape in both years. Mature fruit (90% to 100% red) were harvested twice weekly for total and marketable (fruit with no defects) fruit yield. The results indicate that ‘Portola’ had the highest total fruit weight in both years at 0.60 and 0.51 kg/plant, respectively, and was significantly higher than ‘Monterey’, ‘Albion’, and ‘San Andreas’ in both years (P < 0.05). In 2014, ‘Portola’, ‘San Andreas’, and ‘Albion’ produced the largest total fruit average weight (grams/fruit) and were significantly larger than ‘Seascape’ and ‘Evie 2’ (P < 0.05). In 2015, ‘Portola’ had significantly larger fruit than all the other cultivars except San Andreas (P < 0.05). Marketability percent by weight ranged from 76.5% to 88.6% across both years and the highest marketability was observed with ‘Albion’ (89% and 83%) and ‘Monterey’ (85% and 84%) in 2014 and 2015, respectively. An examination of fruit production during the early, mid-, and late seasons was used to determine seasonal dynamics of each cultivar and the high tunnel system. The overall trend was that total fruit weight was highest during the midseason and total average fruit weight was largest in the early season. However, ‘San Andreas’ and ‘Seascape’ had similar levels of production between the early and midseason and had the lowest level of production in the midseason, particularly in the 2015 trial. In our trials, the use of EC did not affect fruit weight or gray mold incidence on strawberry fruit. Based on the crop productivity observed in our study, this production system has the potential to extend the season for strawberry growers in the central United States or provide a high-value rotational crop for existing high tunnel growers that does not require winter production space.

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