Color analysis and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy in the selection of Passiflora edulis hybrids for fresh consumption

The aim of this work was to determine the bagging time of ‘Prata Anã’ banana in order to reduce anthracnose disease. Treatments consisted of protection of banana bunches with TNT bags at emission, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after emission and of unpacked bunches. Fruits were collected, stored in refrigeration chamber (25 ± 1 °C and 80 ± 5% RH) and evaluated for anthracnose incidence and severity. The study design was completely randomized with six treatments, repeated over two years. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey test (p <0.05). The physical and chemical characteristics of stored fruits were evaluated every three days for 12 days. The study design was completely randomized with six treatments, four evaluation periods, repeated over two years. Results were submitted to analysis of variance and regression (p <0.05). The anthracnose incidence was reduced by up to 67% by bagging bunches at emission. Bunches bagged at emission and at the first month of development did not show anthracnose severity. Bagging bunches reduces anthracnose incidence and severity. The bagging time does not interfere with the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits.

This study was carried out during 2012 and 2013 seasons at El-Sheikh Zuwayid ,North Sinai Governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of mult-ingredient of bokashi on N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ca, Mn and Mg in the leaves, yield as well as some physical and chemical characteristics of Clementine mandarin fruits and soil properties under saline water irrigation.Seven treatments were done as follows: T 1 : control treatment (normal sandy soil), T 2 : poultry manure 10 kg/ tree, T 3 : bokashi1 (poultry manure + solid olive waste +EM+ molasses) 10 kg/ tree, and T 4: bokashi 2 (poultry manure + rice straw +EM+ molasses) 10 kg/ tree.T 5 : bokashi 3 (poultry manure + rice husks +EM+ molasses) 10 kg/ tree, T 6 : bokashi 4 (poultry manure + solid olive waste + rice straw +EM+ molasses) 10 kg/ tree and T 7 : bokashi 5 (poultry manure + solid olive waste + rice husks+ EM+ molasses) 10 kg/ tree.The obtained results showed that all treatments were very effective on leaves mineral content, yield, physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits and chemical characteristics and micro flora soil.Generally, the best treatment was T 6 which improved the mineral content (N, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ca and Mn) in the leaves, yield, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit weight, fruit volume, juice percentage, T.S.S, total sugar, and vitamin C. In addition , T 6 treatment increased the number of the soil micro flora, (total fungi (TF), total bacteria (TB) and total actinomycetes (TA) and some macro and micro elements (N, P, K, Fe, Zn, and Mn) while decreased the total acidity, peel thicknesses in fruits, ECe, pH and Na in soil as compared to the control.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anthracnose intensity in ‘Prata-Anã’ banana with the application of three phosphite formulations in two application intervals in the developing banana bunches and to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits. In the field, in addition to producer management, three phosphite formulations were evaluated: FCu1 (4% Cu + 20% P2O5), FCu2 (4% Cu + 22% P2O5) and FK (42% P2O5 + 27.7% K2O) sprayed on banana bunches at different application frequencies: four and eight times. The experiment was carried out in a randomized blocks design following a 5 x 2 factorial scheme, with 3 phosphite formulations, pure water and no application and two application intervals. Pure water and no application were used as control. Fruits were harvested, stored in refrigeration chamber (25 ± 1 ° C and 80 ± 5% RH) and evaluated for anthracnose incidence and severity, as well as physical and chemical characteristics. The application of copper phosphite can control anthracnose incidence by 38% and severity by 49.5%. The frequency of phosphite application does not affect anthracnose intensity. FCu1 phosphite application in ‘Prata-Anã’ banana bunches, as well as eight phosphite applications increases fresh mass loss. Phosphite application frequency affected the chemical characteristics of banana fruits.

High variability in populations of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) from spontaneous flora is an important genetic source for propagation and breeding programs. This study aimed to provide information on the state of genetic resources in C. mas in Romania and on physical–chemical characteristics of fruits in selected genotypes. Over 2 years of study, significant differences in morphometric characteristics were observed. Notably, fruit weight and pulp percentage varied between 1.0 and 2.67 g and between 66.71 and 90.02%, respectively, and a high variability in chemical composition of fruit pulp among population was also observed. The relationships between different morphometric characteristics of fruits confirmed the influence of fruit size on the fruit weight and pulp percentage. Selection and study of C. mas L. genotypes in Oltenia region’s spontaneous flora was shown to be useful for introducing the most valuable selections in commercial exploitation.

Passiflora cincinnata Mast. (caatinga passion fruit) has acidic fruits with a peculiar flavor, green color when ripe and a low percentage of abscission making it difficult to identify the point of harvest. In order to verify the harvest period in two populations of P.cincinnata, flowers were marked in anthesis and after six periods the fruits were harvested. This study evaluated fruit mass, seeds and pulp mass, fruit dimensions and shape, percentage of water, color and texture of skin, volume, color and pulp yield, pH, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity ratio, polyphenol content, flavonoids and anthocyanins. The assay was designed in a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement (2x6), with two populations (CPEF2220 and CBAF2334) and six harvest periods (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 days after anthesis - DAA) with four repetitions. There was a reduction in thickness (43.1%) and percentage of water in the skin (9.3%), pH (40.1%), ratio, polyphenols content and pulp luminosity (brightness). There were increases in pulp mass and volume, seed mass, pulp mass yield in relation to the fruit (72%), and SS titratable acidity (44.9%) in CPEF2220 and equality between populations in fruit shape, pulp color, thickness and skin color (luminosity and ºhue), pH and polyphenols. Although after 100 DAA there were higher yields, between 60 and 80 DAA it was possible to identify characteristics of SS, pH, titratable acidity, mass, volume and pulp yield related to ripe fruits, allowing harvesting after 60 DAA.

Instalou-se um experimento com manga 'Tommy Atkins' objetivando estudar a eficiência do índice de degradação de amido visando a sua utilização em nível de campo como mais uma alternativa para estimar a maturação dos frutos. A eficácia do método foi estabelecida pela sua correlação durante a maturação com o conteúdo de amido e com a coloração da casca, coloração da polpa, firmeza da polpa, pH, acidez total titulável, sólidos solúveis totais e açúcares redutores e não redutores. O ensaio foi instalado em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, composto por cinco tratamentos, com base na coloração da polpa e da casca. No caso da polpa: I - fruto verde; II - verde com traços de amarelo; III - mais verde que amarelo; IV - mais amarelo que verde; e V - traços de verde. Para a coloração da casca, adotou-se a mesma escala com variação de verde para vermelho. Utilizaram-se seis repetições por tratamento. Em geral, houve boa correlação entre o índice de degradação do amido e as outras variáveis estudadas, sendo que o índice de coloração da polpa apresentou melhor coeficiente de correlação. As análises de correlação indicam que o método pode ser utilizado pelo produtor.

Predictions of fruit shelf life and quality after ripening: Are quality traits measured at harvest reliable indicators?

Algumas espécies de citros apresentam produção irregular ao longo dos anos. Além da safra irregular, a alternância de produção pode interferir na qualidade dos frutos, característica cada vez mais valorizada pelo mercado citrícola. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da carga pendente na qualidade dos frutos da laranjeira 'Valência'. O experimento foi conduzido com laranjeiras 'Valência' enxertadas em tangerineiras 'Cleópatra' em condição de campo. Em janeiro de 2007, metade das plantas teve todos os seus frutos retirados, enquanto a outra metade permaneceu intacta. As plantas que tiveram seus frutos retirados apresentaram, em setembro de 2007, floração mais intensa e, portanto, uma Alta Carga de frutos (AC, 752 frutos/árvore) em 2008, quando comparadas às plantas que não tiveram seus frutos retirados, que apresentaram Baixa Carga de frutos (BC, 317 frutos/árvore). Os frutos maduros, colhidos em dezembro de 2008, foram analisados quanto à massa, teor de sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável, espessura e cor da casca, teor de suco e número de sementes. Na safra seguinte, de 2009, as avaliações das características físicoquímicas dos frutos foram repetidas nas mesmas árvores, mas durante quatro momentos entre o período de frutificação e a colheita, em novembro de 2009. Na safra de 2008, houve diferença na massa individual dos frutos com valores de 172 e 158g nas plantas BC e AC, respectivamente. O teor de sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável, teor de suco nos frutos, espessura da casca e o índice tecnológico foram semelhantes entre os tratamentos, nas safras de 2008 e 2009. Entretanto, vale considerar que, como a produção de frutos nas plantas AC, na safra de 2008, foi 2,2 vezes maior se comparada às das plantas BC (AC: 2,9 caixas/planta e BC: 1,3 caixa/planta), a quantidade total de sólidos solúveis produzida por planta também foi maior. Não houve influência da carga pendente de frutos no teor de açúcares (glicose, frutose e sacarose) no suco e na cor da casca durante o desenvolvimento dos frutos. Apesar de reduzir a massa do fruto, a diferença de carga pendente observada em laranjeira 'Valência' não influenciou na qualidade dos frutos quando considerado, como destino da fruta, a indústria citrícola.

Nance [Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) HBK.] is a tropical fruit cultivated along the coastal areas of Mexico. Nance consumption has increased due to its versatility, as it can be used as fresh fruit, refreshments, and alcoholic beverages and also for preparing fruit rolls, bottled drinks, jellies, syrup, ice cream, and cakes. However, the broad variation in fruit quality parameters, like juice acidity, total soluble solids, skin color, and size, seems to limit its use. Since fruit quality can be influenced by the parameter used, multivariate canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) was used to discriminate among nance selections. The objective of this study was to find the best quality indices using physical and chemical fruit characteristics from eight nance selections cultivated in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. Six physical and five chemical variables of fruit quality were studied to determine the relative contribution of each variable to the discrimination between nance selections. Two canonical discriminant functions (CDF1 and CDF2) explained >80% of the accumulated variation among nance selections. The total soluble solids (TSS) to titratable acidity (TA) ratio was dominant on the CDF1 (standardized canonical coefficient = 2.46), therefore, this ratio could be used as the best quality index to select nance fruit. The following TSS to TA values are proposed to classify the nance selections studied: a) 5.1 to 8 as sour fruit (Sour-small and Purple selections), b) 8.1 to 10 as sweet-sour fruit (Conical, Improved, Sweet-sour-1, Sweet-sour-2, and Sweet-sour-3 selections), and c) >10 as sweet fruit (Sangunga selection).

Fruit skin color and physical quality are important for customer acceptability and market value. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of pneumatic defoliation on the fruit quality, coloration, and anthocyanin content of ‘Fuji’ apples. Apple trees were subjected to no defoliation (control) and defoliation at low (0.6 bar) and high (0.9 bar) air pressure 20 days before harvest at 1 km/h of tractor speed. High-defoliation treatment increased the leaf damage rate but did not significantly affect the defoliation rate compared to low-defoliation treatment. Additionally, photosynthetically active radiation and solar irradiance inside the tree canopies were highest in the high-defoliation group, followed by the low-defoliation and control groups. With the exception of higher firmness in the high-defoliation treatment, pneumatic defoliation treatments had little effect on fruit size and weight, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, the starch pattern index, and the sunburn incidence of fruit. Compared with that of the control group, both defoliation treatments significantly increased the a* and C values and decreased the ho values of the fruit color. Moreover, both defoliation treatments significantly increased anthocyanin content and upregulated the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes (MdPAL, MdCHS, MdCHI, MdF3H, MdANS, MdANS, MdUFGT) and the transcription factor (MdMYB10). A Pearson′s correlation analysis also showed that anthocyanin production was strongly correlated with each of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, especially in the pneumatic defoliation treatments. Conclusively, the results show that pneumatic defoliation at low pressure bars could be an effective strategy for improving the red coloration of ‘Fuji’ apples.

The aim of this work was to characterize flowering aspects, as well as to evaluate the agronomic performance and fruit quality of the main sour passion fruit hybrids. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replicates and five treatments, consisting of the following commercial hybrids: ‘FB300-Araguary’, ‘FB200-Yellow Master’, ‘BRS Gigante Amarelo, ‘BRS Sol do Cerrado’ and ‘BRS Rubi do Cerrado’ and the experimental unit consisted of three plants. Phenological characterization and the aspects related to flowering were performed through visual observations of the beginning and duration of the events. Hybrid production was determined by weighing all fruits harvested during the production period. For physical and physicochemical variables such as fruit mass, peel mass, seed mass, pulp mass, peel yield, seed yield, pulp yield, peel thickness, number of seeds, longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter, fruit shape, were evaluated, peel firmness, peel and pulp color, pH, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity and TSS/TTA ratio were evaluated. The beginning of flowering and harvesting was 02/22/19 and 04/22/2019, respectively. All studied hybrids had similar production and yield responses, with ideal physical characteristics for processing or fresh consumption.

Pumpkin is one of the crops grown in Trinidad and Tobago with a competitive advantage in the export market. A sector analysis conducted in 2005 identified the instability of cultivars leading to irregular shapes and sizes as one of the major weakness affecting the export market. A survey of producers/exporters revealed that the main characteristics required for export were smooth, cream/green coloured skin with thick, yellow/orange, sweet flesh. A number of fruits were collected and evaluated for the desired physical and quality characters. A breeding programme was developed using a Phenotypic Assortive Mating Design and Mass Selection to improve the uniformity of the varieties grown in Trinidad and Tobago. The characterization/evaluation data collected for this project included the following: skin colour (primary, secondary), flesh thickness, colour, flavour, moisture, texture, fruit shape, weight, fruit skin texture, diameter, length, skin hardness, cavity diameter, number of seeds/fruit, flesh moisture, total soluble solids and % dry matter. After six generations of breeding and selection the variety CES STARZ was developed with 79.7% uniformity with respect to fruit shape, skin and flesh colour in addition to improvement in sweetness and dryness.

The objective was to evaluate the genetic variability among pepper accessions al the physical and chemical characteristics of fruit. Pepper accesses are from the Germplasm Bank at the Federal University of Uberlandia - Monte Carmelo Campus (Universidade Federal de Uberlândia-UFU, Campus Monte Carmelo, MG, Brazil). The experiment was conducted from November 2013 to March 2014 at UFU's Experimental Station on the Monte Carmelo campus, MG, Brazil. The statistical design consisted of randomized blocks with 47 treatments and four replications. Multivariate analyzes were performed for quantitative traits in 47 pepper access by principal component analysis. Means were compared by Scott-Knott test (α = 0.05). Mature fruits were collected 120 days after transplant and used to determine titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (SS), pH and SS/TA. There was genetic variability among accessions. The 47 accessions showed high soluble solids content of 9.08 ° Brix, acidity of 0.22, pH of 5.50 and an SS/TA ratio of 33.8. This last characteristic is of great importance in the food processing industry. UFU accession 28 has high levels of SS and TA and is therefore a candidate for Pepper breeding programs that target the needs of the food processing industry.

Jaboticaba is a fruit species native to Brazil that is appreciated for its sweet fruits, which are rich in chemical compounds. Despite the remarkable potential of this species, only few studies have explored fruit trees native to Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits, the physiological quality of seeds, the production of artisanal fermented beverages, and the molecular characteristics of eight jaboticaba genotypes. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design and the following features were analyzed: the physical and chemical characteristics of fruits using four replicates of 25 ripe fruits; the physiological quality of seeds using four replicates of 50 seeds, with four replicates of 25 seedlings employed for growth evaluation; the production and quality of the artisanal fermented jabuticaba, including an analysis of the alcohol content (WAC - %), pH, and total acidity of the fermented jabuticaba (WTA - meq L-1), and molecular diversity, with 50 SSRs evaluated for transferability in eight jabuticaba genotypes. Of these, 12 SSR were selected to produce clear bands that indicated specificity. Genotype 4 presented one of the largest values for fruit mass (15.25 g) and SS/TA ratio (51.92), which are ideal values for in natura consumption and are associated with higher contents of antioxidant compounds, such as anthocyanins and total phenolics. The genotypes had no statistical difference in seedling emergence, with a mean of 97.6%, despite genotype 5 presenting the highest emergence speed (2.75) and the lowest mean emergence time (18.10 days). Genotype 5 was found to be more vigorous. Further, genotypes 2 and 4 were considered ideal for in natura consumption, with fruits presenting high pulp yield, balanced SS/TA ratio, and high contents of antioxidant compounds. Genotypes 6, 3, and 8 displayed great potential for use in industrial processes. The groups of genotypes reflect the detected genotypes with different purposes and may guide divergent crosses for traits of interest in breeding programs.

BackgroundFruit skin color play important role in commercial value of cucumber, which is mainly determined by the content and composition of chlorophyll and anthocyanins. Therefore, understanding the related genes and metabolomics involved in composition of fruit skin color is essential for cucumber quality and commodity value.ResultsThe results showed that chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid content in fruit skin were higher in Lv (dark green skin) than Bai (light green skin) on fruit skin. Cytological observation showed more chloroplast existed in fruit skin cells of Lv. A total of 162 significantly different metabolites were found between the fruit skin of the two genotypes by metabolome analysis, including 40 flavones, 9 flavanones, 8 flavonols, 6 anthocyanins, and other compounds. Crucial anthocyanins and flavonols for fruit skin color, were detected significantly decreased in fruit skin of Bai compared with Lv. By RNA-seq assay, 4516 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between two cultivars. Further analyses suggested that low expression level of chlorophyll biosynthetic genes, such as chlM, por and NOL caused less chlorophylls or chloroplast in fruit skin of Bai. Meanwhile, a predicted regulatory network of anthocyanin biosynthesis was established to illustrate involving many DEGs, especially 4CL, CHS and UFGT.ConclusionsThis study uncovered significant differences between two cucumber genotypes with different fruit color using metabolome and RNA-seq analysis. We lay a foundation to understand molecular regulation mechanism on formation of cucumber skin color, by exploring valuable genes, which is helpful for cucumber breeding and improvement on fruit skin color.