Fig. 3.

Ascorbate loss in different growth stages of spinach and watercress. Plant material tested was: (a) Four batches of spinach (cultivar Toucan) were simultaneously harvested, at different growth stages: two relatively late (harvested 28 and 33 d after field sowing, at the ‘vegetable-leaf’ stage; described here as ‘mature’ spinach) and two relatively early (harvested 14 and 19 d after sowing, at the ‘baby’ salad-leaf stage; described here as ‘juvenile’ spinach). (b) Watercress seedlings (7–10 days after sowing), and plants harvested 1–4 weeks after these seedlings had been planted out. In each case, detached leaved were stored in the dark at 4 °C and assayed for ascorbate content after 0–10 d. Each data-point represents the mean of three leaf samples ± SE.