scholarly journals Effects of Melatonin Treatment on Sweet Cherry Tree Yield and Fruit Quality

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Alberto Carrión-Antolí ◽  
José Manuel Lorente-Mento ◽  
Juan Miguel Valverde ◽  
Salvador Castillo ◽  
Daniel Valero ◽  
...  

The effects of preharvest melatonin treatment, applied as foliar spray at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mM concentration at three key points of fruit development (pit hardening, initial colour changes and 3 days before harvesting), on crop yield and fruit quality properties at harvest was evaluated in three sweet cherry cultivars, ‘Prime Giant’, ‘Lapins’ and ‘Sweet Heart’, and two years, 2019 and 2020. The results showed that melatonin treatment had no effect on crop yield, except for the ‘Lapins’ cultivar, in which increases were found. However, decayed and cracked fruit percentage was decreased in all cultivars in 2020 when adverse weather conditions occurred and commercial crop yield was increased, especially for 0.3 mM dose. Fruit quality traits at harvest, such as fruit weight, colour, firmness, total soluble solids and titratable acidity, were enhanced by melatonin treatments in all sweet cherry cultivars and in both years. Moreover, bioactive compounds, such as total phenolics and total and individual anthocyanins, were also found at higher levels in fruit from melatonin-treated trees with respect to controls. Thus, taking into account all these effects, 0.3 mM melatonin foliar spray, at three key points of fruit developmental stages, could be a useful tool to improve crop yield and quality traits of sweet cherries, especially their content on bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties and health beneficial effects.

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 820
Author(s):  
José M. Lorente-Mento ◽  
Fabián Guillén ◽  
Salvador Castillo ◽  
Domingo Martínez-Romero ◽  
Juan M. Valverde ◽  
...  

The effect of melatonin pomegranate tree treatments on fruit quality and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity at harvest and during storage at 10 °C for 60 days was assayed in two consecutive years, 2019 and 2020. In the first year, trees were treated with 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mM of melatonin along the developmental fruit growth cycle, and results showed that bioactive compounds (total phenolics and total and individual anthocyanins) and antioxidant activity at harvest were higher in fruits from melatonin-treated trees than in controls. Other fruit quality parameters, such as firmness, total soluble solids and aril red colour, were also increased as a consequence of melatonin treatment. In fruit from control tress, firmness and acidity levels decreased during storage, while increases occurred on total soluble solids, leading to fruit quality reductions. These changes were delayed, and even maintenance of total acidity was observed, in fruit from melatonin-treated trees with respect to controls, resulting in a fruit shelf-life increase. Moreover, concentration of phenolics and anthocyanins and antioxidant activity were maintained at higher levels in treated than in control fruits during the whole storage period. In general, all the mentioned effects were found at the highest level with the 0.1 mM melatonin dose, and then it was selected for repeating the experiment in the second year and results of the first year were confirmed. Thus, 0.1 mM melatonin treatment could be a useful tool to enhance aril content on bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity and health beneficial effects and to improve quality traits of pomegranate fruit, at harvest and during postharvest storage.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 917
Author(s):  
Jorge Medina-Santamarina ◽  
Pedro Javier Zapata ◽  
Juan Miguel Valverde ◽  
Daniel Valero ◽  
María Serrano ◽  
...  

The effects of preharvest melatonin treatment on apricot crop yield and fruit quality properties at harvest and during storage have not yet been investigated. Apricot trees, of the ‘Colorado’ and ‘Mikado’ cultivars, were sprayed with 0.1 mM melatonin at three key points of fruit development. Fruit were harvested at commercial ripening stage and yield was higher in melatonin treated trees than in the controls. Fruit were stored at 1 and 8 °C for 21 and 28 days, respectively. Samples were taken weekly and left at 20 °C for 1 day. Weight losses, as well as reduction in firmness and acidity, were delayed in fruits from melatonin treated trees, showing an effect of treatment on delaying the postharvest ripening process, which was attributed to a reduced ethylene production in both cultivars and at both storage temperatures. In addition, chilling injury symptoms were observed in apricots stored at 1 °C, which were reduced by preharvest melatonin treatment. Moreover, apricot from melatonin-treated fruit retained higher total phenolic content than the controls after 14 days of storage, although the phenolic profile was not affected by treatment. Thus, melatonin could be a useful tool for practical purposes to improve apricot crop yield and maintain fruit quality properties during storage.


2008 ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. San Martino ◽  
F.A. Manavella ◽  
D.A. García ◽  
G. Salato

Antioxidants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominika Średnicka-Tober ◽  
Alicja Ponder ◽  
Ewelina Hallmann ◽  
Agnieszka Głowacka ◽  
Elżbieta Rozpara

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the content of a number of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fruits of selected local and commercial sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars. The experiment showed that the selected cultivars of sweet cherries differ significantly in the content of polyphenolic compounds and carotenoids. The fruits of commercial sweet cherry cultivars were, on average, richer in polyphenols (the sum of phenolic compounds determined chromatographically), flavonoids, as well as anthocyanins and were characterized by higher antioxidant activity when compared to the local, traditional cultivars. In the group of the traditional sweet cherry cultivars, particular attention could be paid to Black Late cv., showing the highest antioxidant activity of fruits. In the group of commercial sweet cherry cultivars, Cordia and Sylvia fruits could be recognized as being rich in bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity. Yellow skin cultivars were characterized by the highest concentrations of carotenoids. Strong positive correlations between the identified bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of fruits were also found. Although different cultivars of sweet cherries show a high variability in phenolics and carotenoids profiles as well as in the antioxidant activity of fruits, they all should be, similarly to other types of cherries, recognized as a rich source of bioactive compounds with an antioxidant potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 319 ◽  
pp. 126360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simón Miranda ◽  
Paulina Vilches ◽  
Miriam Suazo ◽  
Leonardo Pavez ◽  
Katherine García ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia M. Cantín ◽  
Jorge Pinochet ◽  
Yolanda Gogorcena ◽  
María Ángeles Moreno

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