The locally grown broccoli micro-greens samples were purchased from a local farm in Alabama, which uses organic farming practices for growing high-quality organic micro-greens. micro-greens can be produced in soil-based or hydroponic growing systems. Hydroponic systems are often used in commercial operations for their high productivity. In micro-scale operations, such as local farms, both soil based and hydroponic systems are utilized. In order to elucidate the effects of the growing environment on the qualities of micro-greens, micro-greens samples both grown in soil and hydroponically were obtained from the local farm and were designated as “farm-hydroponic” and “farm-soil” in this article. The commercial-hydroponic micro-greens were packaged in plastic clamshell containers with an unknown harvest date, while the samples from the local farm were harvested on the same day of delivery and packaged in paper clamshell containers. Samples were used for laboratory analysis on the day of purchase and stored at 4 C for the sensory study during the following three days.This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the researchers’ institution. Participants were recruited on campus at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama . The researchers recruited volunteer participants in the student center: the researchers and their assistants approached the students who came in the student center during weekday lunch time in April 2019. The students were asked if they would be interested in testing micro-greens and participating in this study. The researchers first explained the purpose of this study, obtained the participants’ consent, and then provided the participants with three samples of broccoli micro-greens for testing: commercial-hydroponic, farm-hydroponic, and farm-soil samples . First, participants were informed that the study required a blind, sensory evaluation of three samples: they tasted and evaluated the samples in terms of smell, appearance, taste, and overall liking on a 7 point Likert scale ranging from very poor to excellent . Participants used distilled water as a palate cleanser between tastings.

After the sensory evaluation, participants were given more information regarding the samples, including the sources of samples , growing method , and the selling price per ounce. Then, participants were asked to complete a survey regarding their perceived pricing,hydroponic fodder system perceived benefits, and willingness-to-buy of each sample in a 5 point Likert scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree . One item measuring perceived pricing was adopted from Dodds, Monroe, and Grewal: “The price of the product is high”. Items measuring perceived benefits were modified from Lea & Worsley and Ares & Gambaro. The variable of willingness-to-buy was measured based upon Dodds, Monroe, & Grewal using the following item: “My willingness to buy this product is very high.” In addition, questions regarding prior experience of purchasing micro-greens and demographic information were included at the end of the survey. All questions were answered in a paper ballot. The participants who completed the study received a $3 gift card as an incentive.Data from 150 participants were collected and analyzed in this study. Through a preliminary data screening, all assumptions of the univariate normality, linearity, and multicollinearity were met, which indicate the satisfactory data quality. Table 1, with permission from Elsevier summaries the descriptive information of sampling. The participants consisted of 59 males and 91 females . The majority of participants were between 19 and 24 years old and currently attending college . In terms of spending on groceries per week, 46% answered that they spend from $50–100 and 29% spend less than $50. When the participants were asked about their prior experience purchasing and consuming micro-greens, 82% had not purchased and 69% had not consumed micro-greens before participating in this study.As an emerging food product category, research in micro-greens related to consumers’ acceptability and intent to purchase is scarce. This study was conducted to understand whether the sensory evaluation differs in commercially grown and locally grown micro-greens, as well as examine the factors that influence consumers’ micro-greens consumption. Consumers’ acceptance of fresh produce depends on several attributes of food quality. Nutritional values and sensory attributes are often important factors governing the consumer acceptance of a food product and their intent to purchase. The sensory quality has long been recognized as one of the most important factors consumers consider when choosing their food.

Important sensory attributes of food are appearance, odor/fragrance, consistency/texture, and flavor. These perceptions often occur simultaneously as an overall sensory experience. Appearance is the most important quality attribute of fresh and minimally processed produce, with primary concern for size and color uniformity, glossiness, and absence of defects in shape or skin finish. Flavor is an important internal factor for fresh produce. Consumers often buy the first time based on appearance, but consumer satisfaction and repeat purchases are driven by internal quality factors such as flavor and texture. Flavor is comprised of taste and aroma related mainly to sugars, acids, and volatile compounds. Common taste components in fresh produce are sweetness, acidity, astringency, and bitterness. Smell helps consumers to discover and enjoy food as much as taste. The volatiles occurring in a food that can be perceived by the human nose contributes to the aroma and flavor of the food. The texture of fruits and vegetables is often interpreted in terms of firmness, crispness, juiciness, and toughness, where firm or crispy tissues are generally desired in fresh and minimally processed produce. In a blind sensory testing, significance was found among three micro-greens samples . The sample of commercial-hydroponic broccoli had the lowest scores regarding all sensory attributes and was found significantly different than the other two samples from the local farm. Previous studies investigating the sensory evaluation of conventional and organic grown vegetables did not find significant differences. However, in the current study of micro-greens’ sensory tasting, participants rated the commercial-hydroponic broccoli micro-greens prominently lower than the locally grown micro-greens. Similarly, participants’ perceptions of product benefits and willingness-to-buy scored lower in the conventionally grown than locally grown micro-greens. The sensory differences between samples from conventional and local farms could be influenced by the micro-greens’ pre-harvest and post-harvest conditions. micro-greens have tender textures and delicate appearances and are often called “vegetable confetti”. Therefore, it is possible that the sensory testing of micro-greens can be very distinct depending on the growing conditions, such as light quality and intensity. Since micro-greens are highly perishable, they often are sold in a living medium to keep the plantlets alive and growing. However, the packaging, shelf-life, and harvest time can change the quality and flavor of micro-greens very rapidly. Thus, it is likely that the sensory quality is influenced by the growing, transportation, and storage conditions of micro-greens in grocery stores versus local farms.

Future research could further scrutinize the impacts of packing conditions and shelf-life of micro-greens products. In addition, the nutritional qualities of micro-greens harvested in a hydroponic versus soil farming practices can be investigated. Furthermore, the sensory evaluation between farm-hydroponic and farm-soil micro-greens showed that there were partially or no difference between these two samples. This result indicates that consumers may not taste a difference between soil and hydroponically grown micro-greens from the local farm. Since hydroponics is an eco-friendly, cost-saving, and highly productive method for vegetable production, hydroponic cultivations of micro-greens could gain competency in the emerging global hydroponics market, as well as meet the growing demand of micro-greens consumption. The combination of sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability has only been investigated in one previous study on micro-greens, yet different types of micro-greens and analysis methods were used. Due to very limited studies investigating consumers’ sensory evaluation and perceptions toward micro-greens’ consumption, this study provides empirical contribution into understanding how different intrinsic and extrinsic attributes impact consumers’ purchase intention of micro-greens. Food choice is a complex function of preferences for sensory characteristics combined with the influence of non-sensory factors. Previous studies have found that perceived price, product claim, and quality had an important impact on consumers’ food choices. Consumers’ perceived benefits, such as product quality, healthiness, natural content, sensory appeal, pricing, and benefits for environment and local community, all contributed to consumers’ attitude and willingness-to-buy fresh food products. Another study found that when consumers perceived higher benefits of purchasing organic food products, they were more likely to pay for the products even though the price was premium. The study of Namkung & Jang also supported the hypothesized positive linkage between food quality and consumer behavioral intentions. Consumer food choice also depends on the price they have to pay for the qualities sought.

Perceived pricing was defined as the consumer’s perception of the product’s price compared to other brands of the same product with similar specifications . Many researchers have agreed that perceived price is an important determinant of customers’ post-purchase behaviors. According to traditional economic theory, price is viewed as a monetary sacrifice needed to make a purchase. Therefore, a high price tag increases consumers’ perception of an economic cost thereby negatively influencing their purchase intentions. For example, the relatively higher price of organic products has been the most significant reason for not buying organic food especially for low-income consumers . Although price is the major cost cue,fodder system it has also been found to be an indicator of quality. Price is a relevant quality cue when consumers do not have adequate information about intrinsic quality cues or when it is the only available cue. As a consequence, it is often argued that price has a positive influence on expected quality: The higher the price, the higher the expectations of quality. The trade-off between expected quality and expected costs, and its impact on intention to buy, is commonly analyzed by means of conjoint analysis. The results from the structural equation model indicate that both consumers’ sensory evaluation and pricing influence their perceived benefits of consuming micro-greens products . In addition, the sensory evaluation and perceived product benefits had direct and significant effects on consumers’ willingness-to-buy. This finding is consistent with previous research, which addressed that consumers’ purchase intention was profoundly driven by their perceived benefits and evaluation of food products. These benefits include the perception of healthiness, nutritional values, food quality, and ecological sustainability. When consumers expect higher benefits of consuming micro-greens, they are more willing to purchase micro-greens products. The factor of pricing, on the other hand, has a direct and significant impact on product benefits, but not on consumers’ willingness-to-buy. specifically, if consumers recognize the micro-greens are reasonable priced, their perceived benefits of the products will increase, which in turn, influences their intention to purchase the micro-greens. This indirect effect indicates that consumers’ decision-making is an intricate process, which intertwines with their evaluation of overall product benefits.

The implication for micro-greens farmers and food retailers is to address micro-greens’ benefits to consumers, such as promoting high nutrient concentrations and enriching vegetable diet. As consumers’ health awareness increases, the perceived benefit of nutritional values often influences the consumers’ purchasing decision regarding micro-greens. Therefore, providing the nutritional information of micro-greens could enhance consumers’ micro-greens consumption. Particularly in this study, a majority of participants had not previously consumed nor purchased micro-greens.Pesticides are an integral part of food production in the twentieth century. Although pesticides have a substantial positive impact by increasing crop productivity, these xenobiotics also contribute to environmental contamination. Because of leaching, low effective concentration at the target site, hydrolysis, microbial degradation, and photodegradation, pesticides usually require multiple applications at high concentrations to achieve the desired results. Nanoscale delivery systems have garnered significant interest, with a demonstrated potential to improve the dispersibility of hydrophobic agrochemicals to enhance analyte stability, and to control chemical release or dissolution. Because of their small size, nanoparticles are able to effectively penetrate plant tissues, thereby increasing the magnitude of uptake of the pesticide and promoting the desired effect. Biopolymers are promising materials for the development of nanoparticle delivery systems. These types of nanoscale materials have a lower cytotoxicity due to the inherent biocompatibility of the polymers. Naturally occurring polymers such as chitosan, alginate, lignin, and zein, as well as biodegradable synthetic polyester polylactic acid, are good options for synthesis of sustainable nanoplatforms for agricultural uses based on their biodegradability and biocompatibility.