Variations in Nitrate Accumulation Among Spinach Cultivars1

Eighteen spinach cultivars were found to vary considerably in NO3 concentrations in their leaves. Smooth-leafed cultivars were lower in NO3 concentration than heavily savoyed cultivars. Some medium or semisavoyed cultivars were low NO3 accumulators, and others were high accumulators. A low degree of savoyedness appears to be a useful factor in the selection of spinach cultivars with tendencies for low NO3 accumulation.