Nutrition Commons^™

Inhibition Of Stearoyl-Coa Desaturase 1 (Scd1) Dissociates Insulin Resistance And Obesity From Atherosclerosis, J. Mark Brown, Soonkyu Chung, Janet K. Sawyer, Chiara Degirolamo, Heather M. Alger, Tam Nguyen, Xuewei Zhu, My-Ngan Duong, Amanda L. Wibley, Ramesh Shah, Matthew A. Davis, Kathryn Kelley, Martha D. Wilson, Carol Kent, John S. Parks, Lawrence L. Rudel

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background—Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase 1 (SCD1) is a well-known enhancer of the metabolic syndrome. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of SCD1 in lipoprotein metabolism and atherosclerosis progression.

Methods and Results—Antisense oligonucleotides were used to inhibit SCD1 in a mouse model of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis (LDLr^-/-Apob^100/100). In agreement with previous reports, inhibition of SCD1 protected against diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis. However, unexpectedly SCD1 inhibition strongly promoted aortic atherosclerosis, which could not be reversed by dietary oleate. Further analyses revealed that SCD1 inhibition promoted accumulation of saturated fatty acids …

Minimal Nutrition Intervention With High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate And Low-Fat, Nutrient-Dense Food Supplement Improves Body Composition And Exercise Benefits In Overweight Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Christopher M. Lockwood, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Ashley A. Walter, Abbie E. Smith, Vincent J. Dalbo, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Exercise and high-protein/reduced-carbohydrate and -fat diets have each been shown separately, or in combination with an energy-restricted diet to improve body composition and health in sedentary, overweight (BMI > 25) adults. The current study, instead, examined the physiological response to 10 weeks of combined aerobic and resistance exercise (EX) versus exercise + minimal nutrition intervention designed to alter the macronutrient profile, in the absence of energy restriction, using a commercially available high-protein/low-carbohydrate and low-fat, nutrient-dense food supplement (EXFS); versus control (CON).

Methods: Thirty-eight previously sedentary, overweight subjects (female = 19; male = 19) were randomly assigned to either CON (n …

The Effect Of Beta-Alanine Supplementation On Neuromuscular Fatigue In Elderly (55–92 Years): A Double-Blind Randomized Study, Jeffrey R. Stout, B. Sue Graves, Abbie E. Smith, Michael J. Hartman, Joel T. Cramer, Travis W. Beck, Roger C. Harris

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWC_FT) in elderly men and women.

Methods: Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age ± …

Total Body Water Estimations In Healthy Men And Women Using Bioimpedance Spectroscopy: A Deuterium Oxide Comparison, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Michael D. Roberts, Vincent J. Dalbo, Chad M. Kerksick, Michael G. Bemben, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffrey R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Total body water (TBW) estimations have been used to estimate body composition, particularly fat-free mass, to aid in nutritional interventions, and to monitor hydration status. In the past, bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) devices have been used to estimate TBW. Previous investigations have examined the validity of the XiTRON 4000B (XiTRON Technologies) BIS device for estimating TBW. Recently, a new BIS device (Imp™ SFB7) has become available, claiming greater precision when estimating TBW. The Imp™ SFB7 (SFB7) is based on similar BIS principles, while offering increased portability and a greater range of frequencies when compared to older devices, such as the …

Pre-Workout Consumption Of Celsius® Enhances The Benefits Of Chronic Exercise On Body Composition And Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Jeffrey R. Stout, Jordan R. Moon, Sarah E. Tobkin, Christopher M. Lockwood, Abbie E. Smith, Jennifer L. Graef, Kristina L. Kendall, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The functional beverage Celsius®, has recently been shown, after acute and chronic (28 days) consumption, to increase resting metabolism and serum blood markers of lipolysis in healthy, college-aged men and women. The purpose of this study was to examine the combined effects of a 10-week exercise program while consuming Celsius® on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness changes in sedentary men and women.

Beta-Alanine Supplementation And High-Intensity Interval Training Augments Metabolic Adaptations And Endurance Performance In College-Aged Men, Abbie E. Smith, Ashley A. Walter, Kristina L. Kendall, Jennifer L. Graef, Christopher M. Lockwood, Jordan R. Moon, Travis W. Beck, Joel T. Cramer, Jeffery R. Stout

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effects β-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance.

Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping For Seed Mineral Concentrations In Two Arabidopsis Thaliana Recombinant Inbred Populations, Brian M. Waters, Michael A. Grusak

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Biofortification of foods, achieved by increasing the concentrations of minerals such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), is a goal of plant scientists. Understanding genes that influence seed mineral concentration in a model plant such as Arabidopsis could help in the development of nutritionally enhanced crop cultivars. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for seed concentrations of calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), Fe, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), and Zn was performed using two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, Columbia (Col) × Landsberg erecta (Ler) and Cape Verde Islands (Cvi) × Ler, grown …

Engineering, Nutrient Removal, And Feedstock Conversion Evaluations Of Four Corn Stover Harvest Scenarios, Reed L. Hoskinson, Douglas L. Karlen, Stuart J. Birrell, Corey W. Radtke, Wally Wilhelm

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Crop residue has been identified as a near-term source of biomass for renewable fuel, heat, power, chemicals and other bio-materials. A prototype one-pass harvest system was used to collect residue samples from a corn (Zea mays L.) field near Ames, IA. Four harvest scenarios (low cut, high-cut top, high-cut bottom, and normal cut) were evaluated and are expressed as collected stover harvest indices (CSHI). High-cut top and high-cut bottom samples were obtained from the same plot in separate operations. Chemical composition, dilute acid pretreatment response, ethanol conversion yield and efficiency, and thermochemical conversion for each scenario were determined. Mean …

Cholesterol-Lowering Properties Of Plant Sterols Esterified With Beef Tallow Fatty Acids In Hamsters, David M. Guderian Jr., Heather E. Rasmussen, Curtis A. Wray, Patrick Dussault, Timothy P. Carr

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Plant sterol esters (PSE) reduce plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration by inhibiting cholesterol absorption. Previous work in our laboratory indicated that PSE containing stearic acid (SA), compared to linoleic acid, were significantly more effective at reducing cholesterol absorption. We tested the cholesterol lowering properties of PSE containing fatty acids from beef tallow, a natural and abundant source of SA. Male hamsters were fed diets containing 0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, or 5.0% beef tallow PSE for 4 weeks. Dose-dependent reductions (P < .05) were observed in cholesterol absorption, liver esterified cholesterol, and plasma nonhigh-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration; hamsters fed 5.0% PSE exhibited reductions of 56%, 98%, and 38%, respectively, compared to controls. Concurrent increases (P < .05) in fecal sterol excretion were also observed. In a second hamster study, the cholesterol-lowering properties of beef tallow PSE were compared to hamsters fed molar equivalents of free plant sterols (PS) and free SA. Beef tallow PSE were significantly more effective at reducing liver and plasma cholesterol concentrations than PS and SA consumed individually. Whether PS and SA act through independent or synergistic mechanisms will require further research, although the present findings support the use of dietary PSE containing beef tallow fatty acids in the management of hypercholesterolemia.

Review Of Harvest For Hope: A Guide To Mindful Eating By Jane Goodall With Gary Mcavoy And Gail Hudson, Charles A. Francis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

One of the world's preeminent experts on primate behavior, author Jane Goodall now invests her boundless energy traveling and speaking about conservation. After years of studying chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania, Goodall found their very existence threatened by poachers, by encroachment of farming into their habitat, and by global forces far from their wild environment. She is now on a mission to inform the public about what is wrong with our society and its impact on the planet. Harvest for Hope catalogs the problems and provides practical solutions.

Aromatic Compounds In Three Varieties Of Turnip Greens Harvested At Three Maturity Levels, Georgia Jones, Ola Goode Sanders, Casey Grimm

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Turnip greens (Brassica rapa) are commonly consumed in the southern U.S.A. Typically, they have a bitter taste, which increases with maturity, probably because of increased levels of glucosinolates. While glucosinolate degradation products have been isolated from various members of the Brassica family, the effect of variety and maturity on these products has not been determined. This study focused on the glucosinolate degradation products of three varieties of turnip greens: Purple Top, Seven Top and Tokyo Cross, harvested 45, 60 and 75 days after planting. Four volatile components (benzene acetonitrile, benzene propane nitrile, 1H-indole-3-acetonitrile and benzene ethyl isothiocyanate) were isolated, identified …

Feeding Drosophila A Biotin-Deficient Diet For Multiple Generations Increases Stress Resistance And Lifespan And Alters Gene Expression And Histone Biotinylation Patterns, Erin M. Smith, Jia Tse Hoi, Joel C. Eissenberg, James D. Shoemaker, Wendi S. Neckameyer, Anne M. Ilvarsonn, Lawrence G. Harshman, Vicki L. Schlegel, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Caloric restriction increases stress resistance and lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster and other species. The roles of individual nutrients in stress resistance and longevity are largely unknown. The vitamin biotin is a potential candidate for mediating these effects, given its known roles in stress signaling and gene regulation by epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., biotinylation of histones. Here, we tested the hypothesis that prolonged culture of Drosophila on biotin-deficient medium increases stress resistance and lifespan. Flies were fed a biotin-deficient diet for multiple generations; controls were fed a biotin-normal diet. In some experiments, a third group of flies was fed a biotin-deficient diet …

Evaluating Diet Composition Of Pronghorn In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Christopher N. Jacques, Jaret D. Sievers, Jonathan A. Jenks, Chad L. Sexton, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) was reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park (WCNP), South Dakota, in 1914, and thus, has inhabited the Park for nearly a century. During the 1990's, a decline in the population raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside WCNP; an investigation into the observed decline was initiated. Primary objectives of our study were to evaluate diet composition and forage selection by pronghorn in WCNP. Microhistological analysis was conducted on 58 fecal samples collected opportunistically from pronghorn during 2002. Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), common juniper (Juniperus communis), and northern bedstraw …

Reduction In Cholesterol Absorption Is Enhanced By Stearate-Enriched Plant Sterol Esters In Hamsters, Heather E. Rasmussen, David M. Guderian Jr., Curtis A. Wray, Patrick H. Dussault, Vicki L. Schlegel, Timothy P. Carr

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Consumption of plant sterol esters reduces plasma LDL cholesterol concentration by inhibiting intestinal cholesterol absorption. Commercially available plant sterol esters are prepared by esterifying free sterols to fatty acids from edible plant oils such as canola, soybean, and sunflower. To determine the influence of the fatty acid moiety on cholesterol metabolism, plant sterol esters were made with fatty acids from soybean oil (SO), beef tallow (BT), or purified stearic acid (SA) and fed to male hamsters for 4 wk. A control group fed no plant sterol esters was also included. Hamsters fed BT and SA had significantly lower cholesterol absorption …

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber—animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products—as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for the past two decades, …

Renal Damage In Experimentally-Induced Cirrhosis In Rats: Role Of Oxygen Free Radicals, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Jayasree Basivireddy, Anup Ramachandran, Simmy Thomas, Prabhu Ramamoorthy, Anna B. Pulimood, Molly Jacob, Kunissery A. Balasubramanian

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Cirrhosis with ascites is associated with impaired renal function accompanied by sodium and water retention. Although it has been suggested that mediators such as nitric oxide play a role in the development of renal failure in this situation, other mechanisms underlying the process are not well understood. This study examined the role of oxidative stress in mediating renal damage during the development of cirrhosis in order to understand mechanisms involved in the process. It was shown that carbon tetrachloride– or thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis in rats results in oxidative stress in the kidney as seen by increased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, …

Intestinal Mucosal Alterations In Rats With Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Cirrhosis: Changes In Glycosylation And Luminal Bacteria, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Prabhu Ramamoorthy, Simmy Thomas, Jayasree Basivireddy, Gagandeep Kang, Anup Ramachandran, Anna B. Pulimood, K. A. Balasubramanian

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a major cause of mortality after liver cirrhosis. Altered permeability of the mucosa and deficiencies in host immune defenses through bacterial translocation from the intestine due to intestinal bacterial overgrowth have been implicated in the development of this complication. Molecular mechanisms underlying the process are not well known. In order to understand mechanisms involved in translocation of bacteria, this study explored the role of oxidative stress in mediating changes in intestinal mucosal glycosylation and luminal bacterial content during cirrhosis. CCl₄-induced cirrhosis in rats led to prolonged oxidative stress in the intestine, accompanied by increased …

Mechanomyographic Amplitude And Frequency Responses During Dynamic Muscle Actions: A Comprehensive Review, Travis W. Beck, Terry J. Housh, Joel T. Cramer, Joseph P. Weir, Glen O. Johnson, Jared W. Coburn, Moh H. Malek, Michelle Mielke

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this review is to examine the literature that has investigated mechanomyographic (MMG) amplitude and frequency responses during dynamic muscle actions. To date, the majority of MMG research has focused on isometric muscle actions. Recent studies, however, have examined the MMG time and/or frequency domain responses during various types of dynamic activities, including dynamic constant external resistance (DCER) and isokinetic muscle actions, as well as cycle ergometry. Despite the potential influences of factors such as changes in muscle length and the thickness of the tissue between the muscle and the MMG sensor, there is convincing evidence that during …

Orientation To Nutrition Care Process Standards Improves Nutrition Care Documentation By Nutrition Practitioners, Nancy Hakel-Smith, Nancy M. Lewis, Kent M. Eskridge

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objective — To compare documentation of two groups of clinical nutrition practitioners for evidence of the nutrition care process.

Design — This study used a comparative descriptive design. A retrospective chart review was conducted on all nutrition documentation in closed patient records. Documentation of two groups of nutrition practitioners (institution A = practitioners who received initial orientation and routine reinforcement in use of nutrition care process standards; institution B = practitioners who received orientation in use of a further assessment and medical nutrition therapy intervention procedure) was compared for evidence of a six-step nutrition care process.

Sample/Setting — The sample …

Serum Lipids Of Physically Active Adults Consuming Omega-3 Fatty Acid–Enriched Eggs Or Conventional Eggs, Carrie A. Sindelar, Sarah B. Scheerger, Sheri L. Plugge, Kent M. Eskridge, Rosemary C. Wander, Nancy M. Lewis

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study was designed to compare the effects of the consumption of one omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)–enriched egg or one conventional egg on serum lipids in physically active adults. A total of 12 adults (mean age 33 ± 7 years, mean body mass index [BMI] 24 ± 3) were recruited, and dietary treatments were randomly assigned. After a 2-week lead-in period (baseline), participants received each 4-week treatment in a crossover arrangement with a 4-week washout period between treatments. Participants completed a 3-day food record at baseline and during each treatment period. Food records were analyzed for carbohydrates, protein, …

Science-Based Organic Farming: A Resource For Educators, Charles A. Francis, Mindi Schneider, Brad Kindler

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming is an important and growing part of the United States food system. The organic sector has grown by at least 20% per year for the past two decades, and currently shows no indication of slowing in this growth. There is increasing consumer concern about where and how food is produced, and people want to be assured access to safe and healthy food products. Interest and concern about food security, and discussion about the merits of a local food system as compared to the vulnerable globalized marketplace are also becoming increasingly important. In Nebraska we have only limited local …

Reviews Of Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture And The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture, Edited By Andrew Kimbrell, Charles A. Francis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Fatal Harvest introduces and dispels key myths about industrial agriculture: greater efficiency; safe and nutritious food that is cheap to consumers; benefits to wildlife and environment; how biotechnology will save the world. In essays by leading proponents of a more equitable and sustainable food system, the book presents compelling evidence that alternative systems guided by an agrarian ethic will better address our food needs while protecting our natural environment and soil resources.

Wendell Berry cites the separation of people from their food supply and natural environment as a causal factor in our ready acceptance of today's industrial agriculture. When we …

Agroecosystems Analysis From The Grass Roots: A Multidimensional Experiential Learning Course, Mary Wiedenhoeft, Steve Simmons, Ricardo Salvador, Gina Mcandrews, Charles A. Francis, James W. King, David Hole

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

An intensive, experiential travel course in Agroecosystems Analysis was conducted in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska (United States) during summers of 1998 and 1999. The intended student audience was advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Pretravel readings and a week-long series of farm visits, which consisted of in-depth interviews with the farmers and their families, prepared student teams to analyze and evaluate the production, economic, environmental, and social sustainability of 10 farms. Students shared their analyses both orally and in written reports. Based on a multifaceted student evaluation process, we found that participants were highly motivated, strongly engaged with the course …

Food Pulses Increase Longevity And Induce Cyclical Egg Production In Mediterranean Fruit Flies, James R. Carey, Pablo Liedo, Lawrence G. Harshman, X. Liu, Hans-Georg Müller, Linda Partridge, Jane-Ling Wang

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

1. Inasmuch as virtually all studies on mortality and reproduction in insects are conducted under conditions in which food availability is constant, little is known about the demographic response of insects to variable food environments. For example, it is not known if and to what extent the life expectancy of insects subjected to shortages of high-quality food will increase and/or whether this increase is associated with major decreases in lifetime reproduction.

2. Therefore cohorts of 100 individual female medflies were subjected to different sets of conditions of protein availability (interspersed with sugar-only diets) including ad libitum sugar-only (no protein), ad …

Temporal And Spatial Dietary Variability In The Prehistoric Lower And Middle Osmore Drainage: The Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Evidence, Karin L. Sandness

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Skeletal material from six sites representing human occupation in the Osmore drainage of southern Peru, circa A.D. 50 to 1400, was analyzed for carbon and nitrogen isotopes. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values observed in the study indicate-spatial and temporal variability in diet. Specimens from the lower valley are, in general, more positive in both carbon and nitrogen than those of the middle valley, with the most positive values being present in specimens from the coastal Chiribaya site, San Geronimo. The data suggest, however, that all populations in the drainage experienced shifts in diet through time. Samples …

Aboriginal Exploitation Of Marine Food Resources, Alan J. Osborn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Anthropological interest in human exploitation of resources has increased considerably during the last decade. Archaeological and ethnological literature concerning man's utilization of the world's oceans is relatively abundant and there are now several on-going anthropological research programs, e.g., Aleutian Islands, Pacific Northwest Coast, California, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Southern Africa which focus primarily on maritime adaptations. The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to suggest that anthropological assumptions regarding marine food resources and their use are inadequate; (2) to examine marine ecosystems with respect to structure and dynamics, primary productivity, ecological efficiencies, distributional and quantitative …

Ec75-219 Nebraska Swine Report, William Ahlschwede, T. E. Socha, Alfonso Torres-Medina, A. J. Lewis, P. J. Cunningham, Dwane R. Zimmerman, E. R. Peo Jr., Larry K. Mcmullen, Bobby D. Moser, D. L. Ferguson, Phillip H. Grabouski, Murray Danielson, Charles W. Francis, L. F. Elliott, J. A. Deshazer, Roger W. Mandigo, W. J. Goldner, R. D. Fritschen, Gary Zoubek

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This 1975 Nebraska Swine Report was prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating departments for use in the Extension and Teaching programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Authors from the following areas contributed to this publication: Swine Nutrition, swine diseases, pathology, economics, engineering, swine breeding, meats, agronomy, and diagnostic laboratory. It covers the following areas: breeding, disease control, feeding, nutrition, economics, housing and meats.

Influence Of Advance In Season On Nutritive Value Of Forage Consumed By Cattle Grazing Western Nebraska Native Range, C. L. Streeter, D. C. Clanton, O. E. Hoehne

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the advance in season on the nutritive value of forage consumed by cattle grazing western Nebraska summer range. Eleven digestion trials were conducted during the summer grazing season of two consecutive years.

Evaluation Of Ground Corncobs And Corncob Components As Nutritive Materials In Rations For Beef Cattle, J. Matsushima, T. W. Dowe, V. H. Arthaud

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Two feeding trials were conducted to (1) determine the comparative feeding values of ground corncobs with two fractions of the corncobs--namely, the beeswing and woodyring, and (2) to compare different factors that might affect the utilization of ground corncobs and cob fractions in wintering rations for beef cattle.

Reduced Ascorbic Acid Content Of Potatoes Grown With And Without Straw Mulching And Irrigation In Eastern Nebraska, H. O. Werner, Ruth M. Leverton, Mary R. Gram

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

Potatoes harvested from home gardens and in commercial early-producing fields in the Midwest are an important low-cost source of ascorbic acid from late June into September. The major portion of the early commercial crop in Nebraska (harvested mostly in August) is produced with irrigation. Straw or litter mulching is a well established practice in the nonirrigated garden and farm potato patches. The value of these cultural methods for increasing yield is well known, but prior to this study little was known about their influence on the ascorbic acid content of the tubers, or about the persistence of any such influence …