Fresh Take on How To Improve Artichokes

It’s a plain and simple fact artichokes start losing nutritional value soon after they’re picked. To address this issue, University of Florida scientists  plan to identify ways to extend artichokes’ shelf life while maintaining the stability of health-beneficial compounds.

UF/IFAS Associate Professor Shinsuke Agehara recently hosted an artichoke field day at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, FL. During the event, fellow UF/IFAS researcher Tie Liu presented preliminary results of the study that he and Agehara are leading. Liu highlighted the relevance of their research to “Food is Medicine,” a University of Florida initiative to show how food can help prevent diseases.

“Our research focuses on finding better ways to store and handle artichokes, so they stay fresh longer and keep more of their healthy nutrients,” Liu said. “This can help farmers reduce waste and deliver higher-quality produce to fresh markets and consumers.”

Artichokes are well-adapted to Mediterranean climates, where cool temperatures trigger bud formation, but the plants are sensitive to hard freezes. As a result, nearly all commercial artichokes in the U.S. are grown in California, where the mild coastal climate provides ideal conditions. This requires long-distance shipping to markets nationwide, increasing costs and postharvest losses.

Agehara has spent nearly a decade studying how to adapt artichokes to Florida’s warm, humid climate. To overcome limited winter chilling, his team developed a production system that uses gibberellic acid, a plant hormone that stimulates bud formation without natural chilling. When combined with proper cultivars, planting dates, fertilization and irrigation management, this approach can produce up to 15,420 pounds per acre — more than 90% of the average commercial yield in California.

According to a post-event survey, 70% of attendees expressed interest in growing artichokes, while 24% said they were interested in expanding production.

For more, continue reading at blogs.ifas.ufl.edu.