Mapping Seasonality and Rural Production from a Geohistorical Perspective: The “Ripening Time Registry” of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Nineteenth Century, Italy)

L’analyse des sources géohistoriques pour l’étude de la saisonnalité rurale du passé et des changements climatiques a commencé à susciter l’intérêt de la recherche internationale. Plusieurs chercheurs réclament de nouvelles sources afin de concevoir un cadre interprétatif qualitatif ou quantitatif. Dans cet esprit, l’article présente une élaboration cartographique d’un cadastre créé par le Grand-Duché de Toscane au XIXe siècle et auparavant inconnu, qui contient la liste de tous les produits agricoles et leurs temps de maturation dans les communautés toscanes. Sur la base de la cartographie du XIXe siècle, les données du registre ont été numérisées et géolocalisées à l’aide d’applications d’applications basées sur un SIG. Cette source permet de reconstituer la distribution spatiale et temporelle des semaines nécessaires dans le passé pour que ces produits murissent dans différentes régions de la Toscane. Ensuite, les périodes pendant lesquelles les espèces herbacées et arborées atteignaient la maturité et où elles étaient commercialisées ont été cartographiées. L’analyse montre qu’il existe entre les régions toscanes, au XIXe siècle, de nombreuses différences que les facteurs environnementaux ne suffisent pas à expliquer. De plus, l’examen des périodes de maturation du châtaignier entre le XIXe siècle et aujourd’hui nous permet d’étudier les effets de la hausse des températures sur la maturation. Pour conclure, nous présentons un portail SIG en ligne où les disciplines intéressées par la phytologie peuvent consulter les données.

Content and Bioaccessibility of Vitamin K (Phylloquinone and Menaquinones) in Cheese

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble group of vitamers consisting of phylloquinone (PK) and menaquinones (MKs). To date, only a daily reference intake for PK is set; however, in the last decade, research studying the correlation between MKs intake and improvement of health in regards to cardiovascular diseases, bone metabolism, and chronic kidney disease has been conducted. MKs are synthesised by bacteria in the fermentation process of foods, e.g., cheeses. The content and bioaccessibility of vitamin K vitamers (PK, MK-4, MK-5, MK-6, MK-7, MK-8, MK-9, and MK-10) were assessed in eight different cheese products differing in ripening time, starter culture, fat content, and water content. The bioaccessibility was assessed using the static in vitro digestion model INFOGEST 2.0. Variation of the vitamin K content (<0.5 μg/100 g–32 μg/100 g) and of the vitamin K bioaccessibility (6.4–80%) was observed. A longer ripening time did not necessarily result in an increase of MKs. These results indicate that the vitamin K content and bioaccessibility differs significantly between different cheese products, and the ripening time, starter culture, fat content, and water content cannot explain this difference.

The Combined Effects of Precision-Controlled Temperature and Relative Humidity on Artificial Ripening and Quality of Date Fruit

Due to climatic variation, in-situ date palm fruit ripening is significantly delayed, and some fruits (Biser) cannot become ripe naturally on the tree. Because of that issue, the vast quantity of produce is mere wasted. Few traditional methods are adopted to ripe these unripe fruits through open sun drying or solar tunnel dehydration techniques. However, these methods have minimal use due to ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) instability. Therefore, the present study was designed to find a precise combination of temperature and RH to artificially ripe the unripe Biser fruits under controlled environment chambers. For that purpose, eighteen automated artificial ripening systems were developed. The Biser fruits (cv. Khalas) were placed immediately after harvesting in the treatment chambers of the systems with three set-point temperatures (45, 50, and 55 °C) and six set-point RH (30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55%) until ripening. The optimal treatment combination for artificial ripening of Biser fruits was 50 °C and 50% RH. This combination provided good fruit size, color, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and sugars content. As a result, there was a reduction in fruit weight loss and had optimum fruit ripening time. On the other hand, low temperature and RH delayed the ripening process, deteriorated fruit quality, and caused more weight loss. Although the combination of the highest temperature and RH (55 °C and 55%) reduced ripening time, the fruits have higher weight loss and negative quality. Therefore, the artificial ripening of unripe date palm Biser fruits can be achieved using 50 °C temperature and 50% RH combination. These findings can be applied in the field using solar energy systems on a commercial scale to reduce the postharvest loss of date palm fruits.

Assessment of Agricultural Valuable Indicators of Pure Lines of Tomato

The article is devoted to the study of several tomatoes introduced and created in Vegetable Growing Research Institute (Baku) and pure lines derived from them. Biological and economically-valuable characteristics of varieties and obtained pure are given. It should be noted that in Azerbaijan, 25 different varieties of tomatoes are introduced and localized. These varieties have been cultivated on farms for years and have lost their farm valuable qualities due to various biotic an abiotic factors. Although tomato is a self-pollinating plant, special selection and seeding measures are required for reproduction. Therefore, in order to restore the original characteristics of regionalized tomato varieties, it is necessary to re-study their biological characteristics and economically-valuable qualities. Our research was carried out in the direction of individual selection and acquisition of pure lines of typical plants with characteristic features and characteristics. In the course of the work, 2–3 best pure lines were separated from each variety. These lines differ from the parent varieties in terms of ripening time, fruit weight and productivity. Thus, as a result of experiments, it was determined that they give the product in 10–15 days, the characteristics of coexistence are also high, forming uniformity in shape, size and color. The obtained lines are promising, will be included in the selection of seed work as a valuable starting material, and will also be increased.

Ripening Changes of the Chemical Composition, Proteolysis, and Lipolysis of a Hair Sheep Milk Mexican Manchego-Style Cheese: Effect of Nano-Emulsified Curcumin

The influence of nano-emulsified curcumin (NEC) added to the hair sheep milk, prior to cheese-making, on the chemical composition, lipolysis, and proteolysis of manchego-style cheeses were evaluated throughout 80 days of ripening. The addition of NEC to the milk resulted in cheeses with the same moisture content (42.23%), total protein (23.16%), and water activity (0.969) (p > 0.05). However, it increased the fat and ash levels from 26.82% and 3.64% in B 10 ppm to 30.08% and 3.85% in C 10 ppm, respectively, at the end of the ripening (p < 0.05). The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of experimental cheeses increased during ripening, and the fatty acid groups showed significant changes occurred to a greater extent in the first days of ripening (p < 0.05). The lipolysis increased consistently in all cheeses until day 40 of ripening, to decrease at the end, while proteolysis increased during all ripening time in all samples (p < 0.05); the addition of NEC did not alter the primary proteolysis of manchego-style cheeses, but it modified secondary proteolysis and lipolysis (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis was useful for discriminating cheeses according to their chemical composition and classified into four groups according to their ripening time. This research highlights the potential of CNE to fortify dairy foods to enhance their functionality.

Transcriptomic analysis of temporal shifts in berry development between two grapevine cultivars of the Pinot family reveals potential genes controlling ripening time

Background Grapevine cultivars of the Pinot family represent clonally propagated mutants with major phenotypic and physiological differences, such as different colour or shifted ripening time, as well as changes in important viticultural traits. Specifically, the cultivars ‘Pinot Noir’ (PN) and ‘Pinot Noir Precoce’ (PNP, early ripening) flower at the same time, but vary in the beginning of berry ripening (veraison) and, consequently, harvest time. In addition to genotype, seasonal climatic conditions (i.e. high temperatures) also affect ripening times. To reveal possible regulatory genes that affect the timing of veraison onset, we investigated differences in gene expression profiles between PN and PNP throughout berry development with a closely meshed time series and over two separate years. Results The difference in the duration of berry formation between PN and PNP was quantified to be approximately two weeks under the growth conditions applied, using plant material with a proven PN and PNP clonal relationship. Clusters of co-expressed genes and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected which reflect the shift in the timing of veraison onset. Functional annotation of these DEGs fit to observed phenotypic and physiological changes during berry development. In total, we observed 3,342 DEGs in 2014 and 2,745 DEGs in 2017 between PN and PNP, with 1,923 DEGs across both years. Among these, 388 DEGs were identified as veraison-specific and 12 were considered as berry ripening time regulatory candidates. The expression profiles revealed two candidate genes for ripening time control which we designated VviRTIC1 and VviRTIC2 (VIT_210s0071g01145 and VIT_200s0366g00020, respectively). These genes likely contribute the phenotypic differences observed between PN and PNP. Conclusions Many of the 1,923 DEGs show highly similar expression profiles in both cultivars if the patterns are aligned according to developmental stage. In our work, putative genes differentially expressed between PNP and PN which could control ripening time as well as veraison-specific genes were identified. We point out connections of these genes to molecular events during berry development and discuss potential candidate genes which may control ripening time. Two of these candidates were observed to be differentially expressed in the early berry development phase. Several down-regulated genes during berry ripening are annotated as auxin response factors / ARFs. Conceivably, general changes in auxin signaling may cause the earlier ripening phenotype of PNP.

A Scale for Assessing the Quality of Date and Date Palm Cultivars

In this research, a scale was developed to assess the quality of fruits of date palm cultivars. The scale was based on the evaluation of the fruiting characteristics of the date palm, which included the characteristics of Khalal, which given 10 degrees, Rutab characteristics which given 20 degrees, Tamer characteristics which given 20 degrees, production which given 5 degrees and ripening time which 5 degrees, with a total of 60 degrees for the quality of cultivar. The quality of cultivar was divided into five classes or levels of quality depending on the sum of the degrees of the five fruit characteristics, as follows: 1-14 Low quality, 15-24 Medium (average) quality, 25-34 Good quality, 35-44 Very good quality and 44-60 Excellent quality.