Senescence of Leafy Vegetables

Abstract

Abstract Before undertaking this survey of senescence in stored leafy vegetables, I thought that there would be a wealth of information available from which I could draw. I was in for a surprise. Even though there exists ample literature on some symptoms of senescence among leafy vegetables, amazingly little research has been published regarding fundamental changes in their physiology as senescence progresses. Among the roughly 100 papers I checked for this presentation, only a few dealt with any basic aspect of hormonal influences on senescence in leafy vegetables (2, 15, 40, 47, 57). I was amazed by this relative neglect of studies of senescence in a group of crops that are of major economic importance. If this symposium does little more than point to where the gaps in knowledge are, it can be considered a success.