Seasonal changes of asparagus spears in relation to enzyme activities and carbohydrate content

Seasonal changes in the activities of acid invertase, sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) along with the sugar content were studied in asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L. cvs. E414 and Welcome) grown in the greenhouse. The primary objective of this study was to understand the effect of long-term harvesting on the quality of green asparagus spears. Both soluble and cell wall-bound acid invertase increased in activity until June after which they changed very little, Similarly, SS activity increased to a maximum in June and changed little after this time. SPS activity changed little throughout the season. Sucrose concentration declined from March to a minimum in June and increased again in October. On the other hand glucose and fructose concentrations increased to a maximum in June and thereafter changed little except for a possible decline in October. A highly significant negative correlation was found between acid,invertase and SS activities and sucrose content accounting well for the relation between the substrate and the activity. There were no significant differences between the cultivars, (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.