May/June 2023 - 20

CA STORAGE
Michigan studies pursued
Beaudry described the results of a two-year study on
CA storage of asparagus in Michigan, the culmination of
his 25 years of work in asparagus.
Werling conducted some preliminary work in 2020.
In 2021, Millennium spears from three grower lots were
placed in five target atmospheres at 34˚ F. Snapped
or cut spears were analyzed from multiple harvest
dates. Spears were held in CA for up to four weeks and
monitored weekly for visual quality as well as for sugar
and texture parameters. Spears pulled from CA were
trimmed and stored for six days in air at 39˚ F to simulate
cold-chain and home refrigerator conditions.
Similar experimental
conditions were used
in 2022.
" We found that the
" A lot of biology happens in a very short period of
time " while the asparagus plant develops as a fern,
said MSU's Randy Beaudry. Photo: Gary Pullano
Beaudry said the characteristics of rapidly-perishable
asparagus are unlike that of apples.
Asparagus production, its storage and metabolism
is not dependent on ethylene, as opposed to
apples, he said. " But, there are other activities
in the asparagus spear that might be influenced
by low oxygen and high CO2, " Beaudry said. " We
probably wouldn't reduce respiration by inhibiting
the availability of oxygen, but as it turns out, CO2
suppresses the degradation of some tissues,
including de-greening, or the loss of chlorophyll. "
CA storage retained
the quality a bit
longer, almost two
weeks in this particular
case, " Beaudry said.
" Four weeks in storage
and they were still
doing okay. "
Beaudry determined
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that " if you can store
50% of your product
in cold storage and get two weeks storage out of it,
suppressing the total glut, then you can determine a
threshold where you've overloaded the market, and the
price drops. If you can keep it below that space, you can
keep the price elevated. "
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May/June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2023
