Abstract
Aim of study: Umbrella or stone pine (Pinus pinea) nuts are one of the most valuable and expensive non-wood forest products in Portugal. The increasing market and landowner's interest resulted on a high expansion of plantation areas. This study tests the feasibility of using tomography to characterize pine cones and nuts.Area of study: The research was carried out in pine stand, with nine years, grafted in 2011, on Herdade of Machoqueira do Grou, near Coruche, in Portugal’s central area.Material and Methods: Starting in June 2015, ten pine cones in their final stage of development, were randomly monthly collected, and evaluated with tomography equipment commonly used in clinical medicine, according to Protocol Abdomen Mean. A sequence of images corresponding to 1mm-spaced cross-sections were obtained and reconstructed to produce a 3D model. The segmented images were worked using free image processing software, like RadiAnt Dicom Viewer, Data Viewer and Ctvox.Main results: The cone’s structures were clearly visible on the images, and it was possible to easily identify empty pine nuts. Although expensive, tomography is an easy and quick application technique that allows to assess the internal structures, through the contrast of materials densities, allowing to estimate pine nut’s size and empty nut’s proportion. By analysis of ninety images, it was obtained, an estimated mean value of 25.5 % empty nuts.Research highlights: Results showed the potential of tomography as a screening tool to be used in industry and research areas, for analysis and diagnostic of stone pine cone’s structures.Keywords: pine cone; pine nuts; stone pine; tomography; CAT.Abbreviations: CAT: computerized axial tomography; 3D: three dimensional; HU: Hounsfield Units.
Highlights
Pinus pinea L., known as umbrella or stone pine, is a Mediterranean tree species with great importance in Portuguese forestry where the areas for fruit production have steadily increased in the last decades (Calado, 2012).The seeds of stone pine, or pine nuts, are eatable and have a recognized nutritional and organoleptic value, reaching high prices in the market
Research highlights: Results showed the potential of tomography as a screening tool to be used in industry and research areas, for analysis and diagnostic of stone pine cone’s structures
We evaluate the possibility of using tomography, a quick, Alexandra Nunes, Helena Pereira, Margarida Tomé, João Silva, Luis Fontes easy and non-destructive technique, as an indirect method to estimate pine nuts yield, by determining the total number of nuts in the cone and the number of empty or unhealthy nuts
Summary
Third year stone pine cones were used. A sample of 10 cones was randomly collected every month between June and September 2015 in Herdade of Machoqueira do Grou, where a stone pine research project is underway (PINEA project). Each pixel has a gray color given by an average absorption value that may be expressed in Hounsfield Units (HU) In this scale, 0 matches the water density, -1000 the air density and +1000 corresponds to high density materials (Knipe et al, in http://radiopaedia.org/articles/ computed-tomography). The RadiAnt Dicom Viewer software (RadiAnt DICOM Viewer 1.9.16.7446 build on May 23, 2014; available in http://www.radiantviewer.com/) (Figure 1) was used for measurements, e,g, pine nut dimensions (Figure 2 a) and evaluation of different cone structures through their densities (Figure 3), expressed by HU mean value determinations. The analysis of different tissues focused in each batch on cone number 4 and in its central area In this way, in total four images were analyzed, one for each month. The proportion of empty seeds per cone and per month was estimated
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