Fruit Damage Research Articles

Chassis Design of Tomato Picking Robot in the Greenhouse

At present, the artificial fruit picking cost is high, the fruit damage rate is high, and the efficiency is low, so the greenhouse picking robot emerges as the times’ demand. Therefore, this paper designs a kind of a chassis system of greenhouse picking robots. This paper mainly designed and simulates the chassis mechanical system, electrical system, and basic motion control algorithm from three aspects. Finally, the prototype of the chassis system of the picking robot in the greenhouse is completed and the chassis system is debugged, which proves that it has the characteristics of adaptability to the greenhouse environment, strong universality, and strong expansibility.

Intercropping as Sustainable Approach Against Okra Shoot and Fruit Borer <i>Earias</i> spp.

This study evaluates the effect of maize, sorghum and cowpea as intercrops with okra (at ratio of main: intercrop- of 1:1 and 2:1) against okra shoot and fruit borer Earias spp. incidence. The results revealed that the least shoot damage (5.00%) was observed with okra + cowpea (1:1) intercropping followed by okra + cowpea (2:1) and okra + sorghum (1:1). Maximum shoot damage (6.65%) was registered in okra + maize (2:1) as against mono-cropping (7.69%). Similarly, the least fruit damage (12.25%) was in okra + cowpea (1:1) crop statistically on par with that of okra + cowpea (2:1), okra + sorghum (1:1) and okra + sorghum (2:1); maximum (16.41%) was observed with okra + maize (2:1) and okra as a sole crop (18.42%). The okra + cowpea (1:1) recorded the maximum land equivalent ratio (1.31) followed by okra + cowpea 1.20 at 2:1 and okra+ sorghum 1.19 at 1:1 crop ratio. Okra intercropped with maize (2:1) was found less effective (0.99) than the okra sole. The maximum okra equivalent yield (111.4 q/ha) was obtained with okra + cowpea intercropping (1:1), while the least (100.9 q/ha) was in okra + maize (2:1).

Feeding Behavior and Fruiting Form Damage by Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Bt Cotton.

Bt technologies have played a major role in the control of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in cotton. Variation in expression levels among varieties and plant parts, along with selection pressure on bollworm populations, has led to the development of resistance to some Bt proteins. Trials were conducted to evaluate how cotton varieties expressing different Bt proteins affect bollworm larval behavior and their damage in flowering cotton. Differences in larval recovery were observed among cotton varieties at 3 d with 3-gene Bt cotton having the lowest recovery and non-Bt cotton having the greatest recovery. Loss of bloom tags and abscission of small bolls at the site of infestation affected bollworm larval recovery among varieties. Day after infestation was the main factor that affected bollworm movement across all varieties. Number of total damaged fruiting forms by an individual bollworm larva was different among all varieties. Overall, flower bud (square) and fruit (boll) damage by an individual larva was lower on 3-gene cotton than 2-gene cotton and non-Bt cotton. An individual larva damaged fewer squares on 2-gene cotton than non-Bt cotton, but boll damage from bollworm was similar among 2-gene cotton and non-Bt cotton. The level of square and boll damage in 2-gene cotton has increased compared to previous research further supporting the occurrence of bollworm resistance to Cry proteins. The 3-gene cotton containing the Vip3A gene experienced low levels of damage and survival. These results will be important for improving management recommendations of bollworm in Bt cotton technologies.

New Tools for Mechanical Thinning of Apricot Fruitlets

In this study, the thinner machine with yellow rod equipment was tested in relation to tree branch length and orientation in April 2019, in a narrow-canopied apricot orchard of Emilia Romagna Region, Italy. The trees were mechanically thinned with manual finishing, and comparative tests were carried out simultaneously with the ordinary hand thinning (control). Three groups of two plants were identified as replication for a total of six plants per row. Three rows were checked, considering field uniformity average. The branches were grouped into four classes according to their length: <30 cm, 30–60 cm, 60–90 cm and >90 cm. Branch inclination on the plant, radial or longitudinal with respect to the row, was evaluated. Fruit number before the thinning, after the first and the second machine intervention, after three days of the mechanical thinning and after the hand finishing was recorded. This experience showed satisfactory results in terms of thinning efficiency and reduced damage to both fruits and branches, as a function of the class length and insertion point in the main branch of the plant. Thinning efficiency was always kept above 37% of the left load after hand finishing, and on average between the treatments close to 44%. Fruit damages always remained below the economic thresholds to marketable production or to the plant.

A convolutional neural network approach to detecting fruit physiological disorders and maturity in ‘Abbé Fétel’ pears

Image processing through the implementation of manually coded algorithms has been adopted to detect fruit damage during post-harvest operations. This study tested convolution neural networks with “You Only Look Once” (YOLO) architecture using a commercial online platform to detect physiological disorders and ripening stage in ‘Abbé Fétel’ pear. Disorders such as superficial scald and the starch pattern index (SPI) were assessed. Three different models were trained to detect: I) individual fruit within the boxes; II) superficial scald or senescence scald on pear skin; III) the SPI value of pears was assessed using the Lugol solution. Preliminary statistics show that the model to count the fruit inside the boxes reached 64.70% of true positives with 0.5 intersection over union. The second had less accuracy (up to 20% of true positives) but maintained a good average precision (60%) with different confidence thresholds (40% and 20%). The third showed good performances compared to the Ctifl and Laimburg scales, with an F1 score of 0.36 and 0.59, respectively. The effectiveness of the transfer learning method was demonstrated. However, further image labelling and modelling research is needed to improve the accuracy of the simulations and to develop an application for portable devices for pre- and post-harvest factor mapping. These results could lead to improvements in the management of fruit boxes and thus help ensure good fruit quality for consumers. • Artificial intelligence allows to count fruit, to detect disorders and starch index. • Model for pear detection to estimate number of fruit gets F1 score of 0.84 • Model for superficial scald to detect early storage disorders gets an F1 score of 0.28 • Model for starch index to evaluate fruit ripening gets an F1 score of 0.59 • Neural networks applied to food production chain ensure good quality for consumers.

Estimating of the vibration levels for truck transport in Iran

A wide-ranging of distribution environments could affect designing packages. The first step in the proper packaging design of agricultural products, particularly fruit, is to conduct a precise simulation of the truck transport. Thus, this research was conducted to analyze the vibration levels for truck transport using multi-sensor-based computing on packaged fruit in Iran (the first), one of the leading agriculture in Middle East Asia. Towards this goal, a wireless sensor network made of three sensor nodes with tri-axial accelerometers was designed to measure the vibration levels for truck transport at three package locations equipped with leaf-spring suspension in local and highway roads. To measure the vibration data a power spectral density function (PSD) levels were applied. Compared to the International Standards (ASTM 4728: West Conshohocken, USA, ISTA: Chicago, USA), the PSD levels of the truck in both roads types were higher in 1 to 35 Hz, and lower in 35 to 200 Hz. In particular, the differences in directional vibration levels were more pronounced in the low-frequency range of 10 Hz in both road types. The highest amount of truck bed acceleration occurred in the packages located at the rear end of the trucks. And, the peak PSD values were obtained as equal to 0.178 G2/Hz (rear-up), 0.136 G2/Hz (rear-down), and 0.096 G2/Hz (front-up) locations, respectively. Meanwhile, the road quality had affected the vibration levels in such a way that the peak PSD value obtained on highways was lower than that of the ones of the local roads. According to the results, the amount of acceleration on the heavy truck beds on the country’s roads can be considered 0.654 G. In sum, the current results can be used to simulate the truck transport conditions by programmable vibration simulators to reproduce the vibrationconditions for package testing in Iran roads. And, the findings are of high interest to improve packaging design, reduce fruit damage, maintain shelf life, smart transportation, and related industries.

First occurrence of Nyssa endocarps and associated fungi in the Oligocene of South China: palaeogeographical and palaeoecological significance

AbstractCo‐evolutionary relationships of plants and fungi are of great importance for the phylogeny of both groups. Nyssa was widely distributed in the northern hemisphere during the Cenozoic. Extant species of Nyssa exhibit a disjunct distribution between eastern North America, Central America and East Asia. Here, a new species, Nyssa nanningensis Xu & Jin, is described based on fruit endocarps from the upper Oligocene Yongning Formation of the Nanning Basin, South China. This new fossil record of Nyssa expands the known palaeogeographical distribution of the genus to the low latitudes of East Asia. Associated fossil fungal fruiting bodies on Nyssa endocarps are assigned to the new fossil genus and species, Yongnicta nyssae Tobias & Maslova. This new genus is similar to some members of extant wood destructor taxa Coronophorales and Amphisphaeriales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota). About 3% of the Nyssa endocarps studied were affected by Yongnicta nyssae. Low frequency of fruit damage indicates that endocarps could be released from mesocarps by animals eating fleshy parts of fruits, making them potentially available to wood‐destroying fungi.

Modelling and simulation of fruit drop tests by discrete element method

Apple is one of the most widely consumed fresh fruit in the world. Simulation of kinetics and physical aspects of fruit could be considered as an emerging technology in most of harvest and postharvest phases. Impact damage of fruit is a common phenomenon during handling and transportation, therefore, in this work, experimental and computational analysis of the free fall of apples was conducted. Discrete element method (DEM) simulations of a free fall drop test were performed for four different apple-shaped models. DEM simulations can lead to promising new insights in phenomena involved in particulate processes and discontinuous systems, in which the shape model used plays a key role. This work demonstrated that shape modelling in DEM simulation could be a potentially helpful tool for analysing collisions, and the behaviour and dynamics of particle–particle (apple–apple) and particle-surface (apple-surface) contacts. The computational time of DEM simulation increases when the complexity of apple shape increased. It was found in this work that an increase in the number of spheres in model apple increased the accuracy of the numerical results until a threshold number of spheres was reached. Exceeding that threshold resulted in a decrease in the accuracy of the model. A model of an apple consisting of 50 spheres in 5 sets predicted the end up locations of apples after free-fall with the least errors. It was therefore considered as the most appropriate method for modelling apples in DEM simulations. • Apple dynamics under physical impact could be simulated by DEM. • Four different apple-shaped particles were modelled by multi-ring model (MRM). • Experimental and computational analysis of apple drop tests were performed. • An appropriate DEM model was established to simulate apple drop tests.

Comparison of a Lightweight Experimental Shaker and an Orchard Tractor Mounted Trunk Shaker for Fresh Market Citrus Harvesting

A designed lightweight experimental shaker successfully used to collect ornamental oranges has been tested to harvest fresh market citrus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the removal efficiency and operational times of this experimental device compared to an orchard trunk shaker. Three different collecting systems were studied. ‘Caracara’ citrus trees were tested. Removal efficiency, vibration parameters, fruit and tree damages, and fruit quality were measured. A high-speed camera was used to record operational times and determine cumulative removal percentage over vibration time. The canvases on the ground reduced the severe fruit damages but were not useful to protect against light damages. The experimental shaker produced a higher percentage of slightly damaged oranges. No significant differences in removal efficiency were found between the two harvesting systems. However, removal efficiency using the experimental device could be reduced by 40 percent and working time increase by more than 50 percent when access to the main branches was difficult. In agreement with previous results, the curve representing the branch cumulative removal percentage in time followed a sigmoidal pattern. A model was built showing that during the first 5 s more than 50 percent of the fruits were detached.

Efficacy and Phytotoxicity Assessment of Successive Application of Methyl Bromide and Cold Treatment on Export Strawberry Fruits.

Simple SummarySpotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is an important quarantine pest in Korea due to its oviposition behavior. In this study, insecticidal effects of methyl bromide (MB) alone and successive application of methyl bromide and cold treatment were compared to examine their potential to reduce methyl bromide usage and shorten the cold treatment periods. Eggs, larvae, and pupae were subjected to treatment with fumigants to determine the 50 and 99% lethal concentration time values. The results show that, through treatment with methyl bromide plus cold, control can be achieved at lower concentrations than for treatment with methyl bromide alone and with shorter treatment periods than for treatment with cold treatment alone. Phytotoxic effects from successive treatment on strawberry were not observed. Therefore, methyl bromide plus cold treatment can effectively control D. suzukii in strawberry without damage to fresh fruits.Recently, spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is globally prevalent and causes agricultural losses to many fruits. To export Korean strawberry, methyl bromide fumigation is required to remove D. suzukii infestations, but Korean strawberry farmers are worried about fruit damage because methyl bromide can cause phytotoxicity on fresh commodities. In this report, we assessed the efficacy and phytotoxicity of single and successive application of methyl bromide and cold treatment on an export variety of strawberry to reduce fruit damage. The currently recommended dosage of methyl bromide, 40 g/m3 for 3 h at 18 °C, was enough to control all stages of D. suzukii without phytotoxicity. A dosage of 20 g/m3 of methyl bromide treatment for 3 h, followed by 1 d of cold (0 °C) treatment, showed 100% mortality in all growth stages of D. suzukii without fruit damage. Successive application of methyl bromide and cold treatment shows potential as a method of decreasing phytotoxicity and reducing the use of methyl bromide for environmental considerations.

First report of eggplant mottled crinkle virus infecting eggplant in Greece.

During winter 2020-2021, a severe virus-like disease outbreak was observed in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) hybrids 'Monarca' (F1) and 'Angela' (F1) growing under protected conditions in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. In three greenhouses, the percentage of infected plants reached 100% leading to crop abandonment. Symptoms included leaf mottling and yellowing accompanied with plant stunting and apical necrosis. Extensive fruit damage was due to severe malformation and necrotic lesions on the calyx, peduncle and the endocarp (Sup. Fig. 1). To identify the causal agent, total RNA was extracted from a symptomatic eggplant fruit with PureLink™ RNA Mini Kit (ThermoFisher Scientific, USA), which was subjected to high throughput sequencing (HTS) analysis (Illumina Inc., USA). The de novo assembly of the obtained 25 million, 75 bp, single-end reads with Geneious Prime (Biomatters, New Zealand) and the annotation of the resulting contigs with BLASTn revealed the presence of only eggplant mottled crinkle virus (EMCV, genus Tombusvirus) in the sample. The assembled sequence of EMCV isolate from Greece (EMCV-Gr, GenBank Acc. No. MW716271) was 4764 bp in length, covering the full genome of the virus and showing 96.3 % nucleotide (nt) identity with an isolate identified from calla lilies (Zantedeschia sp.) in Taiwan (AM711119). Five symptomatic and seven asymptomatic 'Monarca' (F1) eggplants, as well as two symptomatic 'Angela' (F1) eggplants were tested by RT-PCR that targeted the capsid protein gene of the virus (Dombrovsky et al., 2009). PCR products of 1184 bp were obtained from the seven symptomatic samples and their Sanger sequencing revealed 100 % nt identity with the respective HTS-derived EMCV sequence. No product was obtained from the analysis of the asymptomatic samples. Mechanical sap transmission of the HTS analysed eggplant sample resulted in necrotic local lesions on Nicotiana rustica and Chenopodium quinoa, necrotic local lesions plus systemic necrosis on N. tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc, cv. Samsun and N. glutinosa, systemic collapse of N. benthamiana, and leaf mottling plus stunting of pepper cv. Yolo Wonder plants (Sup. Fig. 1I). Although no symptoms were observed on tomato plants cv. Ace 55, systemic EMCV infection was detected by RT-PCR. To establish the relationship between the disease and EMCV, infected tissue from N. benthamiana plants was used for the mechanical inoculation of virus-tested negative eggplant seedlings cv. Black beauty. Necrotic spots, shoot necrosis, leaf mottling and mosaic, symptoms were observed (Sup. Fig. J) on the test plants ten days post inoculation and the presence of the virus was confirmed by RT-PCR as described. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of EMCV infecting eggplant in Greece. The virus was originally described in eggplant in Lebanon (Makkouk et al., 1981) and it is mainly present outside the European Union (EU) territory, including India, Japan, Taiwan, Iran and Israel (Dombrovsky et al., 2009 and references therein). A latent EMCV infection was detected in pear in Italy (Russo et al., 2002) and the virus is considered by the European Food Safety Authority as an exotic virus of the genera Cydonia, Malus, and Pyrus that meets all the criteria to qualify as an EU quarantine pest (Bragard et al., 2019). Τhe severity of the disease observed in Crete leading to the destruction of eggplant greenhouse cultivations, constitutes EMCV as an emerging threat to eggplant and other solanaceous crops for Greece and Europe.

Color and Organoleptic Changes of the Golek Mango Fruit (Mangifera indica L.) On Zero Energy Cool Chamber (ZECC) Storage Method with Packaging Combination

The increase in the amount of mango fruit production is due to their high nutritional content affordable, and relatively easy to find. However, like other horticultural crops, Mango can be easily bruised or damaged. The fruit damage can be caused by improper post-harvest handling, causing mango quality and has a short shelf life. The study aimed to determine the shelf life and quality of mango Golek stored in Zero Energy Cool Chamber (ZECC) using LDPE packaging and LDPE packaging with additional perforations. The first stage was observing the physical quality of the fruit and then post-harvest treatment such as washing, packaging and storing mangoes at ZECC temperature (±26°C). The second stage was the mango quality test after storage. Tests in the form of skin color and organoleptic. The results obtained in this study were mangoes packed with LDPE and LDPE with perforations. Mango packaged in LDPE packaging were able to retain L* color, b* color, organoleptic color, aroma, texture and taste. Mangoes packed with perforated LDPE packaging can retail, L * color, b * color, organoleptic color, aroma, texture and taste

Prediction method of shelf life of damaged Korla fragrant pears

AbstractTo scientifically and effectively predict the shelf life of damaged Korla fragrant pears, this paper explores the effects of maturity, storage temperature, and damage degree on their shelf life, which was furthermore predicted employing three neural network modeling methods: Back Propagation Neural Network, General Regression Neural Network (GRNN), and Adaptive Network‐based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). A prediction model was then built to achieve the optimal prediction of the shelf life of damaged Korla fragrant pears. The results suggest that maturity, storage temperature, and damage degree exert a significant effect on the shelf life of fragrant pears, and are inversely proportional to the shelf life length; the damaged fragrant pears still have storage value, which can be stored at low temperature according to different damage degree to prolong the shelf life of damaged fragrant pears; the prediction model of maturity, storage temperature, and damage degree on the shelf life of fragrant pears is built based on well‐trained neural networks using the GRNN and ANFIS model, and the ANFIS model with gaussmf input membership function yields the best performance in predicting the shelf life of damaged fragrant pears (root mean square error = 3.5190; R2 = 0.9881). The results offer theoretical guidance for the selection of optimal storage conditions and the effective prediction of the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.Practical applicationsBefore the Korla fragrant pears are stored in the warehouse, the practitioners will directly discard damaged fruits, causing a lot of waste and economic losses. The damaged fragrant pears can be temporarily stored and preserved, and they can be processed and sold in time before the end of the critical shelf life, thereby increasing the economic income of practitioners. Therefore, three neural networks—Back Propagation Neural Network, General Regression Neural Network, and Adaptive Network‐based Fuzzy Inference System—are evaluated for their ability to predict the shelf life of damaged fragrant pears. A shelf life model of damaged fragrant pears is then constructed and screened out, and employed to realize the prediction of the shelf life of damaged fragrant pears. This method is also suitable for predicting the shelf life of other damaged fruits.

Analysis of vibration acceleration levels and quality deterioration of Chinese bayberry fruit in semi‐vacuum package by express delivery

AbstractRecent years have witnessed rapid advances in the transportation of Chinese bayberry fruit in China by express delivery (ED). The mainstream express packaging is a fruit basket filled with Chinese bayberry fruit. In order to analyze the vibration, impact and quality changes of bayberry fruit in the actual ED process, BiQi (BQ) and Dongkui (DK) bayberry fruit were selected as experimental objects. Real‐time acceleration and temperature of Chinese bayberry fruit in the package were recorded during ED transportation. Headspace CO2 gas concentration and squeezed juice percentage were measured when unpacking. The firmness and electronic nose (E‐nose) linear discriminant analysis (LDA) statistical results were measured during the 2‐day shelf life. The results show that semivacuum packaging can reduce the vibration intensity of Chinese bayberry fruit in the package. Whether it was BQ or DK bayberry fruit, the fruit quality of Chinese bayberry fruit sent by ED was considerably worse than that of road vehicle (RV) transportation when unpacking. The LDA statistics of E‐nose data showed that ED‐treated bayberry fruit barely constituted the fresh part. However, differences were noticed between the varieties. Compared with DK bayberry fruit, BQ bayberry fruit had more of its juice squeezed; further, its firmness had decreased more. In conclusion, multiple impacts and high‐intensity vibrations are the main reason for Chinese bayberry fruit damage during ED transportation. Compared to BQ bayberry fruit, DK bayberry fruit is more resistant to mechanical damage and is more suitable for ED.Practical ApplicationsCultivar Dongkui bayberry is more resistant to mechanical damage than BiQi bayberry after many aspects of comparison, and is suitable for express delivery (ED) transportation. To reduce the mechanical damage of bayberry fruit, it is suggested to improve the impact‐resistant design of existing packaging styles, with simply adding a layer of absorbent pad to the bottom of the fruit basket. The form of foam box semivacuum packaging is not only suitable to bayberry, but also to others such as strawberries during ED transportation.

Aromatic plants and chili pepper intercropping as a pest management strategy

The cultivation of peppers in northern Brazil has grown recently influenced by the increase in consumption, culinary usefulness, and medicinal features. However, pest insects damage plants and fruits, impairing production. This work investigates the management of pepper pests by intercropping plants that provide multiple ecosystem services, especially conservative biological control of pests. The experiment was carried out at the Federal Institute of Pará, Campus Rural de Marabá, Pará. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks, with four treatments and five replications. Each plot contained thirty plants. The sampling of arthropods was carried out weekly in the useful portion of each treatment, through direct counting (visual analysis) and tapping plants on a white tray. The average abundance of arthropods in each functional group was calculated over the sampling weeks. We counted the number of fruits and bored fruits per plant to evaluate the effect of treatments on pepper yield. The abundance of pollinators differed significantly among treatments. Intercropping may favor the establishment of natural enemies and reduce the impacts of chemical insecticides.

SPREAD AND HARMFULNESS OF THE THRIPS TABACI LIND IN APPLE PLANTATIONS OF THE KRASNODAR TERRITORY

The results of daily phytosanitary monitoring of fruit plantations and literature data on biology, ecology, harmfulness of tobacco thrips (Thrips tabaci Lind.) are presented. In the apple agrocenoses of the Kuban and Black Sea zones of Krasnodar Territory, an increase in the harmfulness of representatives of the order Thysanoptera is observed. An increase in the number of tobacco thrips was noted, which led to a decrease in the quality of fruits. In the growing season of 2018, isolated symptoms of fruit damage by phytophagous were noted, in the growing season of 2019, fruit damage reached up to 2 %, in 2020 — 5-30 %. It was revealed that during the flowering period the number of T. tabaci Lind was 1-2 specimens per inflorescence; at the end of flowering, the amount of the pest increased by 5 times. High temperatures and lack of precipitation led to an outbreak of the pest population; in the first decade of June, 15 to 40 individuals were fixed per leaf. A high degree of damage to the tops of shoots, leaves and fruits was observed, the tissue in the feeding places of the pest was deformed, discolored, acquiring the appearance of whitish spots, which grew during the growth and ripening of fruits. It is known that the intensive development of thrips takes place in dry and hot years; the optimum temperature for the development of T. tabaci Lind is +25 °C. As a result of our monitoring, it was revealed that the maximum amount of the pest was observed during the period when high temperatures and low relative air humidity were noted — June and early July. The greatest number of the pest was found in areas bordering the fields of grain and tilled crops, while the number of phytophages at the time of registration reached 45 individuals per leaf and more. It should be noted that when the air temperature rises above +35 °C, the development of the phytophage stops, and the mortality rate of all stages sharply increases. To ensure a stable phytosanitary situation in fruit agrocenoses and prevent loss of fruit quality from damage by thrips, it is necessary to develop a set of measures to control the number of pests.

Performance Evaluation of DBSKKV Developed Fruit harvesters for Matured Nutmeg Harvesting

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) is an important tree spice which produces two different spices. Harvesting should be done at proper stage of maturity in order to maintain their nutrients level as attaining desirable quality. Presently, the method adopted for harvesting nutmeg in Konkan region is done manually. The DBSKKV, Dapoli has developed four different fruit harvesters. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the field performance and check feasibility for harvesting of matured Nutmeg fruits with DBSKKV, Dapoli developed fruit harvesters. The performance of the DBSKKV developed fruit harvesters for matured Nutmeg fruit were evaluated in terms of harvesting capacity (kg/h), damage fruit per cent, total harvesting time (h), labour requirement and economics of Nutmeg harvesting. The average harvesting capacity of Naveen Mango harvester, Nutan Mango harvester, Atul Sapota harvester and Multi fruit harvester foe matured Nutmeg harvesting was found to be 51.33 Nos./h (2.79 kg/h), 61 Nos./h (2.78 kg/h), 51.33 Nos./h (2.92 kg/h) and 144.66 nos./h (5.63 kg/h) respectively. The average damage fruit per cent for Naveen Mango harvester, Nutan Mango harvester, Atul Sapota harvester and Multi fruit harvester for matured Nutmeg harvesting were found to be 25.73%, 25.79%, 17.02% and 7.76% respectively. The cost of operation of Naveen Mango harvester, Nutan Mango harvester, Atul Saopta harvester and Multi fruit harvester for matured Nutmeg harvesting was found to be Rs 18.21/kg, Rs 18.44/kg, Rs 17.53/kg and Rs 9.01/kg respectively. Among the evaluated DBSKKV, Dapoli fruit harvesters for matured Nutmeg harvesting, Multi fruit harvester perform better with minimum damage of fruits.

Detection of Invisible Damages in 'Rojo Brillante' Persimmon Fruit at Different Stages Using Hyperspectral Imaging and Chemometrics.

The main cause of flesh browning in ‘Rojo Brillante’ persimmon fruit is mechanical damage caused during harvesting and packing. Innovation and research on nondestructive techniques to detect this phenomenon in the packing lines are necessary because this type of alteration is often only seen when the final consumer peels the fruit. In this work, we have studied the application of hyperspectral imaging in the range of 450–1040 nm to detect mechanical damage without any external symptoms. The fruit was damaged in a controlled manner. Later, images were acquired before and at 0, 1, 2 and 3 days after damage induction. First, the spectral data captured from the images were analysed through an algorithm based on principal component analysis (PCA). The aim was to automatically separate intact and damaged fruit, and to detect the damage in the PC images when present. With this algorithm, 90.0% of intact fruit and 90.8% of damaged fruit were correctly detected. A model based on partial least squares—discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), was later calibrated using the mean spectrum of the pixels detected as damaged, to determine the moment when the fruit was damaged. The model differentiated fruit corresponding correctly to 0, 1, 2 and 3 days after damage induction, achieving a total accuracy of 99.4%.

Kaolin impacts on hormonal balance, polyphenolic composition and oenological parameters in red grapevine berries during ripening

BACKGROUND: Kaolin particle-film application is a well-known strategy to avoid fruit damage. However, its putative role in balancing berry ripening under a changing climate remains poorly explored. OBJECTIVE: We assessed kaolin treatment effect on several ripening berry components, hormonal balance and oenological parameters of the field-grown Touriga-Franca (TF) and Touriga–Nacional (TN) grapevine varieties at veraison (EL35) and ripening (EL38) during two growing seasons (2017 and 2018). RESULTS: Under the adverse summer conditions (two heatwave events) of 2017, kaolin application increased 211.2 %and 51.4 %the salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in TF berries at EL38, while no significant differences were observed in TN. Conversely, TF, and TN kaolin treated berries showed lower SA and ABA accumulation in 2018, respectively. Tartaric acid content increased about 17.2 %, and 24.2 %in TF and TN treated berries at stage EL35 in the 2017 growing season. Though kaolin treatment had no consistent effect on anthocyanins accumulation, flavonoids, ortho-diphenols and tannins increased in kaolin treated grapevines in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the key role of climate in triggering ripening related processes and fruit quality potential. Nevertheless, kaolin treated grapevines displayed an improved response to oxidative stress signals by increasing secondary metabolites accumulation in warm vintages. Kaolin application promoted different varietal responses, with a possible ripening delaying effect in TF, reinforcing its efficiency in alleviating severe summer stress impacts.

Analysis of apple postharment damage under high CO₂ concentration by transcriptome combined with metabolome

The environmental gas concentration affects the storage period and quality of fruits and vegetables. High concentration CO₂ treating for a long time will cause damage to fruits, However, the specific molecular mechanism is unclear. To analyze the mechanism of CO₂ injury in apple, high-throughput sequencing technology of Illumina Hiseq 4000 and non-targeted metabolism technology were used to analyze the transcriptome sequencing and metabolomics analysis of browning flesh tissue of damage fruit and normal pulp tissue of the control group. A total of 6 332 differentially expressed genes were obtained, including 4 187 up-regulated genes and 2 145 down regulated genes. Functional analysis of the differentially expressed genes confirmed that the occurrence of CO₂ injury in apple was related to redox process, lipid metabolism, hormone signal transduction process and energy metabolism process. Twenty candidate browning genes were successfully screened, among which grxcr1 (md14g1137800) and gpx (md06g1081300) participated in the reactive oxygen species scavenging process, and pld1_ 2 (md15g1125000) and plcd (md07g1221900) participated in phospholipid acid synthesis and affected membrane metabolism. mdh1 (md05g1238800) participated in TCA cycle and affected energy metabolism. A total of 77 differential metabolites were obtained by metabolomic analysis, mainly organic acids, lipids, sugars and polyketones, including 35 metabolites related to browning. The metabolism of flavonoids was involved in the browning process of apple. Compared with the control tissue, the content of flavonoids such as catechin and quercetin decreased significantly in the damaged apple tissue, the antioxidant capacity of cells decreased, the redox state was unbalanced, and the cell structure was destroyed, resulting in browning. The results of this study further enrich the theoretical basis of CO₂ damage, and provide reference for the practical application of high concentration CO₂ preservation technology.