scholarly journals Watermelon Rootstock/Scion Relationships and the Effects of Fruit-Thinning and Stem-Pruning on Yield and Postharvest Fruit Quality

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 366
Author(s):  
Merav Zaaroor-Presman ◽  
Sharon Alkalai-Tuvia ◽  
Daniel Chalupowicz ◽  
Marina Beniches ◽  
Abraham Gamliel ◽  
...  

This study examined the effects of stem-pruning and fruit-thinning on the yield of marketable watermelon fruit (>5 kg) and watermelon quality after four days of postharvest storage at 22 °C (marketing simulation). We examined the fruits from non-grafted and grafted plants (TZ and Nurit rootstocks) for two consecutive years. Grafting increased the number of marketable fruit per m2. The weight of the average marketable fruit was increased by pruning, but was not affected by thinning or by the choice of rootstock. The level of total soluble solids was higher among fruits from Nurit rootstock. Flesh texture was improved by grafting, but was not affected by thinning or pruning. Thinning improved the taste of the fruit significantly better than stem-pruning did. Grafting (both rootstocks) was associated with crispier fruits. The fruits from Nurit-grafted plants tasted best. The combination of grafting + fruit-thinning increased the fruit lycopene content. The highest levels of vitamin C were found among the fruit from Nurit-grafted plants and the pruned + Nurit-grafted plants, in particular. Overall, fruit quality was affected mainly by grafting onto Nurit rootstock in combination with fruit-thinning and less by stem-pruning. However, not all internal and nutritional quality parameters were significantly affected by the grafting + fruit-thinning treatment.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1934578X2095329
Author(s):  
Hongjuan Yang ◽  
Min Li ◽  
Xiaohua Kui ◽  
Yueting Sun ◽  
Jian-an Li ◽  
...  

Three cultivars of pomelo “Guanximiyou” (GX) and its variants “Hongroumiyou” (HR) and “Sanhongmiyou” (SH) were selected as experimental materials to evaluate the quality and edible value of the fruit. In this study, the fruit quality and lycopene contents were investigated. The results show that among the 3 cultivars used, the contents of soluble solids, vitamin C, and total phenol in the juice sac of SH were the highest, followed by HR and GX. SH has the largest fruit shape index, soluble sugar content: GX > HR > SH, and titratable acid content: GX < HR < SH. From our findings, the content of lycopene was the highest in SH, followed by HR and GX. SH has the greatest potential for production due to its appreciable content of lycopene and fruit quality.


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Gonda ◽  
N. Rakonczás ◽  
I. J. Holb

In this study, crop yield and fruit quality parameters (soluble solid concentration, sugar, total acid, and vitamin C content) of 15 apple cultivars including old, resistant and currently grown cultivars. The highest fruit yield among all 15 cultivars was obtained on CV. Jonagold with 15.5 kg/tree, while the lowest yield was measured on the resistant cultivar Reanda with 8.1 kg/tree. There were no significant differences among the cultivars in fruit diameter ranging from 70 mm in the case of cv. Húsvéti rozmaring to 82 mm for cv. Mutsu. Values of soluble solids concentration of the cultivars varied between 15.5% for cv. Téli Banán and 19.2% for cv. Renora. Sugar content values showed a similar tendency to soluble solids content. The highest and lowest total sugar content was observed on cvs. Jonagold and Renora and cv. Re­tina with 17% and 12.4%, respectively. Total acid content values ranged between 0.18% and 0.53% for cvs. Jonagold and Remo, respectively. Values of vitamin C content for the 15 apple cultivars varied between 2 mg% and 4 mg% for cv. Retina and cv. Mutsu, respectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramadan A. Hassanein ◽  
Ehab A. Salem ◽  
Ahmed A. Zahran

AbstractThis study was performed to explore the efficacy of combining more than one postharvest treatment in maintaining some quality attributes and reducing fungal pathogenicity in cold-stored guava fruits. The investigated postharvest treatments included the control, CaCl2(4%), lemongrass oil (2 dm3kg−1), gamma (γ) irradiation (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 kGy), 0.4 kGy γ irradiation + CaCl2(4%), and 0.4 kGy γ irradiation + lemongrass oil (2 dm3kg−1). The studied physiochemical attributes included weight loss, decay percentage, fruit firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and vitamin C content. Different fungal species were also isolated from decayed fruits and were identified asAlternaria alternata,Alternaria solani,Aspergillus niger,Botrytis cinerea,Fusarium solaniandRhizopus stolonifer. The severity of infection for the different fungi was determined, and anin vitroantifungal assay was conducted for lemongrass oil. All the investigated treatments generally reduced decay and water loss percentages, and controlled TSS, TA and vitamin C decrements that occurred during cold storage. On the other hand, higher irradiation doses generally increased fruit softness, and the 0.4 kGy γ dose did not contribute to the overall fruit quality when coupled with CaCl2and lemongrass oil, compared to CaCl2and lemongrass oil treatments alone.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-374
Author(s):  
Nelson Ceballos-Aguirre ◽  
Franco Alirio Vallejo-Cabrera ◽  
Yacenia Morillo-Coronado

Genotype-environment interactions (GEI) were assessed in 10 cherry tomato accessions in nine environments, including four artificial settings (0, 60 120, and 180 kg ha-1 of potassium) established on the experimental farms Montelindo (Palestina), Tesorito (Manizales), and CEUNP (Palmira) (Colombia). The plant material included 10 cherry tomato genotypes obtained from the germplasm bank at the Instituto Agronómico de Campinas and Tomato Genetics Resources Center (TGRC). A completely randomized block design with four blocks corresponding to the level of potassium fertilization was used (0, 60, 120, 180 kg ha-1); 0 kg ha-1 was the level reported for the soil. The effective size of the experiment unit was seven plants; the plot included the five central plants. A distance of 1.5 m between rows, 0.50 m between plants, and 2 m between blocks was used. The contents of soluble solids (°Brix), vitamin C (mg/100 g fresh weight), and lycopene (µg g-1 fresh weight) were assessed. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences (P<0.01) between the tomato genotypes, environments, and G×E interactions for the three assessed traits . The AMMI analysis identified similar and contrasting environments and determined the genotypes that contributed the most to the GEI. The environments with 120 and 180 kg ha-1 potassium favored the expression of vitamin C, while Palmira favored the lycopene content. The findings are useful for identifying optimal locations and elite genotypes that can be used as sources of variability in fruit quality improvement programs for cherry tomatoes.


Author(s):  
Ronaldo Elias de Mello-Júnior ◽  
Nathane Silva Resende ◽  
Jefferson Luiz Gomes Corrêa ◽  
Leila Aparecida Salles Pio ◽  
Elisângela Elena Nunes Carvalho

Dekopon or Hallabong (Citrus reticulate “Shiranui”) is a hybrid fruit that belongs to the citrus fruits. The scientific and commercial interests in dekopon is due to its nutritional composition. The objective of the study was to verify the influence of ethanol as a pretreatment in reducing drying time as well as maintaining nutritional quality (vitamin C, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity) of dekopon slices. The drying with ethanol at 70 °C promoted the greatest reduction in drying time, but the processed pretreated samples at 50 °C presented the highest level of nutritional quality parameters. Keywords: drying time; vitamin C; phenolic compounds; antioxidant activity 


Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1183
Author(s):  
Radka Langová ◽  
Miroslav Jůzl ◽  
Olga Cwiková ◽  
Ivica Kos

The influence of the drying technique on certain quality attributes of dried grapes was analysed. Five varieties of grape were used in this study (Bezsemenné, Perlette, Vrboska, Beauty seedless, and Jakubské). All the varieties were dried using four methods: drying at 40 °C, combined drying (70, 65, and 60 °C), drying at 70 °C, and lyophilisation. The quality attributes such as total soluble solids, water activity, content of vitamin C, the colour parameters (L*, a*, b*), and microbiological (colony forming units, moulds, yeasts) and sensory (smoothness, gloss, colour, odour, chewability, juiciness, flavour, and overall impression) analysis were determined, depending on the method of drying. Lyophilised grapes from the Jakubské variety had the highest vitamin C content. They contained 0.58 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of dried grapes. However, no significant differences between varieties in vitamin C content were found. This confirmed concerns about the negative impact on the nutritional quality of dried grapes with increasing temperature. The lowest total count of microorganisms (CFU), moulds, and yeasts were determined after using highest drying temperature (70 °C). Higher CFU values were determined in lyophilised grapes, and then followed by grapes dried at 40 °C. Lyophilised grapes and grapes dried at 40 °C achieved the best sensory rating in general. The final product was intended to have a unique appearance while maintaining the evaluated quality parameters.


Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Tomala ◽  
Marek Grzęda ◽  
Dominika Guzek ◽  
Dominika Głąbska ◽  
Krystyna Gutkowska

Postharvest treatment by 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) for ‘Szampion’ cultivar apples inhibits ripening of climacteric fruit by blocking ethylene receptors, preventing ethylene from binding and eliciting its action. It is also possible to apply 1-MCP preharvest, which so far has not been studied for the ‘Szampion’ cultivar. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of preharvest 1-MCP treatment on the fruit quality parameters of cold-stored ‘Szampion’ cultivar apples in a Polish experiment. Two identical groups of apple trees (6 years, experimental orchard in Warsaw) were included, to obtain studied apples (preharvest 1-MCP treatment with HarvistaTM, 150 g/ha, 7 days before the optimum harvesting window, OHW) and control apples (1-MCP not applied). Apples for the studied group were harvested twice—on 28 September (OHW) and 24 October (delayed harvesting)—and for control group once—on 28 September, as before 24 October the majority of apples fell from trees. Afterwards, apples were stored in an Ultra Low Oxygen chamber (1.2% CO2, 1.2% O2). Apples were assessed in the preharvest period (weekly, six measurements for the studied group, and five measurements for the control group) and postharvest period (monthly, three measurements separately for each harvest time for the studied group and control group). The following parameters were assessed: internal ethylene content (IEC), firmness, total soluble solids (TSS) content, starch index, Streif index, titratable acidity (TA), and color for blush. For the preharvest period, statistically significant differences between the studied group and the control group were observed for IEC, the a* coordinate of color (p < 0.05; for apples treated with 1-MCP lower results), firmness, Streif index, TA (p < 0.05; higher results), and starch index (p < 0.05; no defined trend). For the postharvest period, statistically significant differences between the studied group and the control group were observed for apples harvested in the OHW for firmness (p < 0.05; for apples treated with 1-MCP higher results) and IEC (p < 0.05; no defined trend), while for delayed harvesting the differences were only minor. It may be concluded, that preharvest 1-MCP application makes it possible not only to obtain better results for ‘Szampion’ cultivar apples’ quality parameters, but also allows delayed harvesting without deterioration in quality.


1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 753 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Hutton

This study set out to establish concentrations of ethephon sprays that could reliably thin alternate cropping orange trees in a heavy set year to improve fruit quality for fresh marketing. An optimum concentration of ethephon as a thinning agent was identified for the practical control of alternate cropping in Late Valencia oranges. A single, high volume spray of ethephon (as Ethrel, 42-60 mL/100 L water), applied in a heavy-set year at 6-8 weeks post bloom when fruitlet size was 10-15 mm diameter, induced a 15-20% reduction in fruit number. This resulted in significantly improved fruit size and marketable outturn with negligible yield penalty. In the 2 successive harvests following spray treatment, the cropping pattern remained uniform and a 14% improvement in packout (marketable fruit size <100 counts per carton) was maintained. Internal fruit quality was unaffected. Control of alternate bearing was carried forward for at least 2 seasons with relatively stable yields following a single spray treatment.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.M. del Amor

AbstractSweet pepper plants were grown in a greenhouse under three different cultivation methods (organic, integrated and conventional farming). During the crop cycle, plant growth and especially yield and fruit quality parameters were monitored to determine the effects of the different fertilization strategies. Plant fresh weight and total leaf fresh weight were progressively reduced, relative to the other treatments, in the organic treatment compared with the conventional, and at the end of the crop cycle these parameters were reduced by 32.6 and 35% respectively. This reduction in growth was directly correlated with plant nitrate concentration and, at the end of the study, nitrate concentration was reduced almost completely in the organic treatment. Despite the important effect on growth, no significant differences in total marketable yield were observed between conventional and organic farming, although integrated farming showed the highest yield in the extra and first class fruit categories. Organic farming increased antioxidant activity but reduced both chlorophylls and β-carotene. Fruit firmness, pericarp thickness, pH and total soluble solids content showed higher values with the organic method, but these differences were not significant with respect to the conventional method. Our results show the advantages of the organic fertilization, from both environmental and economic perspectives, if proper dosage is added to the crop and the demonstrated buffer capacity of these plants, with respect to maintaining yield under nutrient depletion at later stages of development, is taken into account.


HortScience ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 721-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilip R. Panthee ◽  
Chunxue Cao ◽  
Spencer J. Debenport ◽  
Gustavo R. Rodríguez ◽  
Joanne A. Labate ◽  
...  

There is a growing interest by consumers to purchase fresh tomatoes with improved quality traits including lycopene, total soluble solids (TSS), vitamin C, and total titratable acid (TTA) content. As a result, there are considerable efforts by tomato breeders to improve tomato for these traits. However, suitable varieties developed for one location may not perform the same in different locations. This causes a problem for plant breeders because it is too labor-intensive to develop varieties for each specific location. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of genotype × environment (G×E) interaction that influences tomato fruit quality. To achieve this objective, we grew a set of 42 diverse tomato genotypes with different fruit shapes in replicated trials in three locations: North Carolina, New York, and Ohio. Fruits were harvested at the red ripe stage and analyzed for lycopene, TSS, vitamin C, and TTA. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences (P < 0.05) among tomato genotypes, locations, and their interaction. Further analysis of quality traits from individual locations revealed that there was as much as 211% change in performance of some genotypes in a certain location compared with the average performance of a genotype. Lycopene was found to be most influenced by the environment, whereas TTA was the least influenced. This was in agreement with heritability estimates observed in the study for these quality traits, because heritability estimate for lycopene was 16%, whereas that for TTA was 87%. The extent of G×E interaction found for the fruit quality traits in the tomato varieties included in this study may be useful in identifying optimal locations for future field trials by tomato breeders aiming to improve tomato fruit quality.


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