Full Ripe Stage Research Articles

Effect of Sowing Methods, Weed Management and Growth Promoters on Yield and Quality Behavior of Kharif Maize (Zea mays L)

The present investigation was carried out during two consecutive kharif season in years 2022 and 2023 at students. Instructional Farm, Department of Agronomy, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur (U. P). The experiment was laid out in Split Plot Design keeping sowing methods in main plot and weed management practices in sub plots with growth promoters in sub – sub plots with three replications. There was two sowing methods viz; Conventional methods (S1) and Ridge methods (S2). Whereas weed management practices were five, viz; Weed Free (W1), Weedy Check (W2), Atrazine Pre-emergence @ 1.25 Kg /ha (W3), Halosulfuron methyl Post-emergence @ 65g a.i./ha (W4), Atrazine Pre-emergence @ 0.75 l/ha + Halosulfuron methyl Post-emergence @ 35g ai./ha (W5). and there was Growth promoters’ practices were three viz; Gibberellic acid (Sayish) (G1), Amino acid + Humic acid (Spring ever) (G2), Cytokinins + Enzymes (Ambition) (G3). The experiment was shown on 10th July during 2022 and 13rd July during 2023 using hybrid maize DKC-9144. The crop was harvested at full ripe stage on 11 October and 14 October, in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The highest grain yield, biological yield, stower yield, harvesting index, protein content and protein yield was found under the treatment of S2 (Ridge method) in sowing method, treatment W2 (weed free) in weed control methods and treatment G3 (Cytokinins + Enzymes) in plant growth promotor.

Abscisic Acid Synthesis and Signaling during the Ripening of Raspberry (Rubus idaeus 'Heritage') Fruit.

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruit is characterized by its richness in functional molecules and high nutritional value, but the high rate of fruit softening limits its quality during postharvest. Raspberry drupelets have a particular ripening regulation, depending partially on the effect of ethylene produced from the receptacle. However, the possible role of abscisic acid (ABA) in the modulation of quality parameters during the ripening of raspberry is unclear. This study characterized the fruit quality-associated parameters and hormonal contents during fruit development in two seasons. The quality parameters showed typical changes during ripening: a drastic loss of firmness, increase in soluble solids content, loss of acidity, and turning to a red color from the large green stage to fully ripe fruit in both seasons. A significant increase in the ABA content was observed during the ripening of drupelets and receptacles, with the higher content in the receptacle of ripe and overripe stages compared to the large green stage. Moreover, identification of ABA biosynthesis-(9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase/NCED) and ABA receptor-related genes (PYRs-like receptors) showed three genes encoding RiNCEDs and nine genes for RiPYLs. The expression level of these genes increased from the large green stage to the full-ripe stage, specifically characterized by a higher expression of RiNCED1 in the receptacle tissue. This study reports a consistent concomitant increase in the ABA content and the expression of RiNCED1, RiPYL1, and RiPYL8 during the ripening of the raspberry fruit, thus supporting the role for ABA signaling in drupelets.

Influence of Sink Size on 15N and 13C Allocation during Different Phenological Phases of Spring Wheat Cultivars

The scientific objective of this study was to answer the question of whether sink limitation is also true for high quality wheat varieties. We examined the incorporation of 15N and 13C during phenological phases into vegetative parts and grains of Elite wheat Triso (E) and Quality wheat Naxos (A) when the spike is halved. Three splits of fertilizer were applied at EC 11, EC 30, EC 59, whereby 10% at EC 30 and EC 59 was 15N, and plants were also labelled with 13CO2. The application of only the third split as 15N, combined with spike-halving, resulted in a significantly higher 15N-content (+11%) of 0.486 mg 15N/g DM, compared to the control (0.437 mg15N/g DM). Labelling whole plants with 13CO2 at EC 59 resulted in a significantly higher 13C-content—40%—(0.223 mg 13C/g DM) of the grains of the control for Triso at the fully-ripe stage (EC 89), compared to Naxos (0.160 mg 13C/g DM). This superiority was reduced to 34%, and was also demonstrated by spike-halving (0.226 mg 13C/g DM, 0.169 mg 13C/g DM). Remobilization of 15N for control and spike-halving treatments were 68.2% and 61.1%, respectively. This clearly demonstrates that the reduction of the sink size by spike-halving leads to a 7% reduction in the remobilization of 15N from vegetative to reproductive tissues.

Assessment of Fruit Fly Infestation on Melon Manis Terengganu (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) at Different Fruit Ripening Stages

Cucumis melo var inodorus or known as Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is a new variety of rockmelon and has been developed and grown exclusively in Terengganu since 2015. However, pest infestations such as fruit flies have reduced melon production yields, and research on fruit flies is still poorly studied in this new variety. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify the fruit fly’s species infested MMT as well as to determine the infestation rate of fruit flies on MMT at different ripening stages. The infested MMT fruits were randomly collected for three consecutive weeks prior to harvest and each week was represented as unripe stage (Week 1), ripe stage (Week 2) and fully-ripe stage (Week 3). Each week, 10 fruit samples were brought to the laboratory and weighed individually before being placed in plastic containers. The fruits were reared until all larvae transformed into pupae for determination of infestation rates and emergence of adult fruit flies for species identification. A total of 232 of fruit flies adults emerged from 30 MMT fruit samples collected and all the flies were identified as Zeugodacus cucurbitae (previously known as Bactrocera cucurbitae). Unripe stage fruits recorded the highest infestation rate of fruit flies at 28.24 ± 18.58 pupae/kg and followed by ripe stage at 24.47 ± 8.17 pupae/kg. Whilst the fully-ripe stage had the lowest infestation rate of flies at 13.5 ± 5.07 pupae/kg. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) of infestation rate was recorded among the different fruit stages. This study contributes new information on the fruit fly’s species that attack MMT and its infestation rate. Hence, these findings are expected to help better management of MMT fruit flies in the future.

Sugar, Acid and Phenols in Fruit of the Sharka-Tolerant Autochthonous Plum Genotype ‘Mrkosljiva’

The self-rooted plum genotype ‘Mrkosljiva’ was first selected as it was devoid of Sharka leaf symptoms during the 5‑year study (2009–2014), which was subsequently confirmed by negative ELISA test results. Hence, the aim of the study was to investigate the biochemical variability of the autochthonous ‘Mrkosljiva’ plum genotype, based on its sugar, acid and phenolic compounds content during 3 years. In 2010 and 2011, the plums tasted sweet with favourable sugar:acid ratios of 55:1 to 65:1. These plum fruits were collected at the full ripeness stage from an extensive orchard located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina (45 °N). Analysis by HPLC identified the following polyphenolic compounds—chlorogenic acid, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, neochlorogenic acid, quercetin-3-O-galactoside and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside—in all 3 years that were evaluated (2009–2011), but in different amounts, depending on the environmental conditions of each year. In 2009, the plums were healthier with a threefold greater phenol content than during the other 2 years of growth. In 2009, protocatechuic acid was detected, whereas catechin, procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2 and quercetin-3‑O-rhamnoside were not detected. The combination of high phenol and sugar content in ‘Mrkosljiva’ provides healthy and tasty plums suitable primarily for processing, and to a lesser extent, due to their size, for fresh fruit marketing.

First Report of Burkholderia cepacia Causing Finger-Tip Rot on Banana Fruit in the Guangxi Province of China.

Banana (Musa acuminata) is one of the most popular and widely consumed fruit crops in the world. During late October to early November 2020, a banana finger-tip rot disease was observed in the banana (cultivar 'Brazil', AAA group) orchard of about 12 hectares located in Zhongcun, Zhangmu Town, Fumian District, Yulin City, Guangxi province, China. The disease incidence was about 0.5% at the surveyed field. Infected fingers and their tips were usually normal in the appearances and then turned to brown to black discoloration in the central fruit pulp adjacent to the fingertips (Fig. 1A). In severe infection, diseased fingers showed brown to black discoloration in both the central and the periphery fruit pulp, and along the longitudinal axis throughout the fruit (Fig. 1B-C). The symptomatic banana fingers were surface-disinfected with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 30 sec, 75% ethanol for 30 sec then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. The flesh tissues were ground in a sterile mortar and soaked in 1 ml of sterile distilled water for 30 min. A 50 μl of tissue suspensions was streaked onto Luria-Bertani (LB) medium. Single colonies were picked and re-streaked onto new LB medium. The cultures were incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Two representative strains, GX and GX2, were obtained from symptomatic pulps and used in the following studies. To molecularly identify the bacterial species, we performed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 16S rRNA and recA primers (Turner et al. 1999; Lee and Chan 2007) and amplified 1,442 bp and 1,019 bp sequences, respectively. The amplified sequences were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers MZ267253 and MZ961355 for the 16S rRNA and MZ287336 and MZ983484 for the recA genes. BLASTn searches shared more than 99% similarity with the reference sequences of B. cepacia strains (MK680073.1 and KC261418.1 for 16S rRNA; AY598028.1 and KF812859.1 for recA). Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the 16 rRNA and recA sequences and showed that the representative strains, GX and GX2, strongly clustered with B. cepacia type strains (Fig. 2). To further determine the genomovars of strain GX, we used specific PCR primers to the B. cepacia epidemic strain marker (BCESM), type III secretion gene cluster (bcscV) and cable pilin subunit gene (cblA) (Lee and Chan 2007; Ansari et al. 2019). The presence of bcscV and BCESM were confirmed by PCR, while cblA was not observed in the strains GX and GX2, suggesting that the isolated strains belong to B. cepacia genomovar III and are slightly different from the Iranian and Taiwan strains of B. cepacia (Lee and Chan 2007; Ansari et al. 2019). Pathogenicity test was conducted on banana fingers (cultivar 'Zhongjiao No.3') at the immature and full ripe stages. A final suspensions of 106 CFU/ml, was injected into the banana fingers (100 μl per finger) through the center of the stigma (Lee and Chan 2007; Ansari et al. 2019). The fingers inoculated with sterile water were used as negative control. To maintain humidity, the treated fingertips were wrapped with Parafilm. For each treatment, ten independent replicates were conducted. At 10 days post-inoculation (dpi), the pulp of immature bananas exhibited reddish brown decaying tissue, which symptoms were similar to those observed in the field (Fig. 1D). Moreover, the pulp tissues of ripe bananas showed a dark brown discoloration in the tip at 5 dpi, whereas the controls remained symptomless (Fig. 1E). The same bacterium was re-isolated from diseased tissues and its identification confirmed by 16S rRNA, thus fulfilling the Koch's postulates. This disease was first described in Honduras in Latin America, and then reported in Taiwan province of China, and Iran (Buddenhagen 1968; Lee et al. 2003; Ansari et al. 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first report of banana finger-tip rot caused by B. cepacia in the Guangxi province, China. It is necessary to determine the distribution of B. cepacia and to prevent its spread in Guangxi province of China.

Influence of maturity stages on postharvest physico-chemical properties of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi var. ‘Shamber Tarnab’) under different storage durations

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of maturity stages on the physicochemical characteristics of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi cv. ‘Shamber Tarnab’) under storage conditions for 60 days at ambient temperature (16±1 °C with 55-60% relative humidity). Grapefruits were harvested at different maturity stages, namely mature green (MG) and full ripe (FR). The fruits of both stages were assessed for different physical quality parameters at 15 days interval. The experimental results showed that ascorbic acid content, titratable acidity, fruit firmness, percent disease incidence was higher at FR stage. In contrast, weight loss, percent juice content, total soluble solid (TSS), and TSS/acid ratio at MG (mature green) were lower than that of FR fruits. Regarding storage durations, the fruit firmness, titratable acidity, percent juice content, ascorbic acid content decreased significantly, whilst total soluble solid, TSS/Acid ratio, weight loss, and percent disease incidence increased significantly with the extension of storage duration from 0 to 60 days. As concerned to its interactive effects, the highest ascorbic acid content, titratable acidity, percent juice content, and maximum fruit firmness were observed in fresh grapefruit, harvested at (MG) mature green stages, whereas the maximum total soluble solid, percent disease incidence, and TSS/Acid ratio were recorded in fruit harvested at (FR) full ripe stage, stored for 60 days at room temperature. Similarly, the Pearson’s Correlation Analysis (p> 0.05) of grapefruit was positive effect for most of the quality traits of grapefruit at different storage durations and maturity stages. It was concluded that grapefruit could be harvested at the mature green stage (MG) for sustaining quality attributes up to 60 days of storage at room temperature.

Laser capture of tomato pericarp tissues for microscale carotenoid analysis by supercritical fluid chromatography.

Plant organs and tissues are comprised of an array of cell types often superimposed on a gradient of developmental stages. As a result, the ability to analyze and understand the synthesis, metabolism, and accumulation of plant biomolecules requires improved methods for cell- and tissue-specific analysis. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the world's most valuable fruit crop and is an important source of health-promoting dietary compounds, including carotenoids. Furthermore, tomato possesses unique genetic activities at the cell and tissue levels, making it an ideal system for tissue- and cell-type analysis of important biochemicals. A sample preparation workflow was developed for cell-type-specific carotenoid analysis in tomato fruit samples. Protocols for hyperspectral imaging of tomato fruit samples, cryoembedding and sectioning of pericarp tissue, laser microdissection of specific cell types, metabolite extraction using cell wall digestion enzymes and pressure cycling, and carotenoid quantification by supercritical fluid chromatography were optimized and integrated into a working protocol. The workflow was applied to quantify carotenoids in the cuticle and noncuticle component of the tomato pericarp during fruit development from the initial ripening to full ripe stages. Carotenoids were extracted and quantified from cell volumes less than 10nL. This workflow for cell-type-specific metabolite extraction and quantification can be adapted for the analysis of diverse metabolites, cell types, and organisms.

Analysis of toxic elements in leaves and fruits of loquat by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

This study aimed at analyzing the content of 10 toxic elements (Be, Al, Ti, As, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb and Ag) in different tissues (leaf blade, seed, fruit peel and pulp) of loquat fruits, at different maturity stages (immature green, mature green and full ripe) from Fujian (Yun Xiao/Zhangzhou) in China, using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), with microwave digestion. Results revealed that the concentrations of Be, Al and Hg in all observed tissues were significantly reduced with the change in maturity of fruits from immature green to full ripe. Whereas the toxicity of Ti, As, Cd, Sb and Pb were observed to be shifted from seed and pulp to peel and leaves. Tin concentration was increased in all observed tissues except seeds, while silver concentration was only increased in fruit peel of loquat. In sum up, toxic elements concentration detected in the fruit pulp of loquat, at full ripe stage, was found safe for human consumption.

Preliminary study on improved postharvest practices for tomato loss reduction in Nigeria, Rwanda and India

Tomato production is increasing along with postharvest losses in Nigeria, Rwanda and India. Modified Commodity Systems Assessment Methodology on tomato was conducted in the study areas during the July – August 2017 harvest season to evaluate the costs and benefits of improved postharvest practices or technologies that will reduce losses in the value chain. The use of colour chart as maturity index to harvest tomato fruit at breaker stage for long distant market in Rwanda when adopted showed that tomatoes were better protected from mechanical injury during handling and generated an immediate increased profit of US$170 for each 1000 kg load when compared with handling tomato fruit harvested at full ripe stage. In Nigeria, the use of a Zero Energy Cooling Chamber (ZECC) resulted in reduction of tomato loss to five percent when compared with the current practice of immediate sales of harvested produce with loss of 40%. This simple ZECC technology and use of Reusable Plastic Crates (RPC) reduced loss from 30% to 10% and increased the earnings of the farmer/trader in Rwanda. In comparison, in India the use of maturity indices and RPCs during harvesting and transport of tomato was common, and resulted in lower postharvest losses during marketing.

Evaluation of durum winter wheat varieties by growth and development indicators

The article presents the study results of the formation of growth and development indicators (growing season length of plants, plant height, density dynamics, ear parameters and grain yield) of domestic varieties of durum winter wheat. It is analyzed that the level of the signs manifestation varies signifcantly depending on the weather conditions of the growing season. However, the growing season duration hardly depend on weather conditions and is 268–269 days. In the full ripeness stage, the height of plants increased 1.4–1.8 times in comparison with earing with insignifcant variation (V=1–5 %) depending on the variety. The lowest plants were Athena, Continent and Laguna – 71–76 cm. Uneven precipitation distribution and high air temperature in 2013 contributed to the formation of fewer stems of durum winter wheat plants compared to more favourable 2014. In the full ripeness stage of durum winter wheat grain in 2013, the coefcient of total tillering was 1.01–1.26 depending on the variety. In 2014, the stem density was the highest. In the full ripeness stage of grain, the number of stems ranged from 650 to 812 pcs/m2 depending on the variety with a total tillering rate of 1.54–1.91. It should be noted that Athena and Linkor varieties retained a higher ability to tillering and stem survival in different weather conditions. The ear length of winter durum wheat varied from 5.9 to 6.7 cm depending on the variety with slight and small variation (V=3–16 %). The number of spikelets in the ear was from 16 to 20 pcs with a small variation coefcient. The ear length of durum winter wheat varied most. Thus, of the nine varieties, the variation coefcient of this indicator in six varieties was average, and in the rest of them - small. However, there was no signifcant difference between the varieties. The highest yields were formed by Argonaut, Gardemaryn and Linkor varieties – 6.00–6.31 t/ha or 13–19 % more than the standard. Grain yield varied signifcantly depending on the weather conditions of the growing season, which is also evidenced by the stability index and was below 1 (0.48–0.64). Less favourable weather conditions in 2013 provided the yield of 3.74–4.63 t/ha depending on the variety. More favourable weather conditions in 2014 provided the grain yield of 5.46–8.25 t/ha depending on durum winter wheat variety. It is obvious that the positive effect of weather conditions in 2014 on tillering and stem survival of winter durum wheat determined the formation of higher grain yield. Key words: durum winter wheat, variety, growth and development indicators, yield.

Fertilizer type and harvest maturity index on nutritive content and proximate composition of tomato fruit

ABSTRACT There may be a link between pre-harvest treatment and the post-harvest quality traits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L) fruit. The experiment was undertaken to determine the relationship between year of production, fertilizer type, and fruit-ripening index on nutritive and biochemical contents of tomato fruits sourced from the Directorate of University Farms, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Data were collected on: proximate content, total soluble solids (TSS), Vitamin C, lycopene, pH and β-carotene. Fruits harvested at full ripe stage had the highest ash, moisture content, crude fiber, crude protein, fat, ß-carotene, TSS and Vitamin C contents. Year of production did not affect proximate content except for crude fiber. Fertilizer type did not affect proximate content except for ash content. Harvest maturity stage influenced proximate, nutritive, and biochemical content of tomato fruit. Fertilizer type used for cultivation and the stage of maturity at harvest are important factors determining tomato fruit nutritive contents and proximate composition. Knowledge of the right stage of maturity at harvest will affect supply of good quality tomato for the fresh market and food processing.

Changes in the polypeptide/ protein banding pattern of guava (Psidium guavajava L.) fruits during ripening on-tree and in-storage

Changes in the polypeptide pattern of guava (Psidium guavajava L.) cvs. viz. Hisar Safeda and Hisar Surkha were examined during ripening on-tree as well as in-storage, at different stages of ripening. Observation of protein banding profile of guava fruits revealed that the profiles differed among cultivars as well as seasons. Both the hybrids revealed reproducible bands ranging from Rf values of 0.48 to 0.98 in rainy season and 0.36 to 0.93 in winter season. Polymorphism was exhibited clearly in fruits of rainy season crop than winter season crop. Also the profiles were affected differentially during ripening on-tree and in-storage. Differences were also observed with respect to maturity stages. There were few bands which were present only at green mature and half ripe stages but absent at full ripe stage while some bands were absent at green mature and half ripe stages but present at full ripe stage. In the present investigations, two unique bands were also observed. One band (Rf value 0.28) was present only in Hisar Surkha at full ripe stage whereas another band (Rf value 0.66) was present in Hisar Safeda at green mature stage only.

Effects of 1-MCP and calcium chloride treatments on quality maintenance of full-ripe cherry tomatoes

This study aims to elucidate the effects of separate or combined 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) treatment on the post-harvest quality of full-ripe cherry tomatoes (TY high Q cultivar). Full-ripe cherry tomatoes were exposed to 500 ppb 1-MCP (14 h), 2% CaCl2 (2 min), or a combination of both. After treatment, the fruit were evaluated based on the changes in their physicochemical factors, antioxidant activities, lycopene contents, and insoluble pectin contents during storage at 10°C over 17 days. All chemical treatments prevented weight loss and reductions in the insoluble pectin contents over the 17 days period, and also over an additional distribution period of 4 days, when compared to the control fruit. Interestingly, the full-ripe cherry tomatoes treated 1-MCP with CaCl2 exhibited a delay in discoloration until 13 days after treatment compared to the control. In addition, the synergetic effect of 1-MCP and CaCl2 was revealed by following their lycopene levels and antioxidant activities during storage. Furthermore, the insoluble pectin contents of the cherry tomatoes subjected to the combined treatment were higher than those recorded for the separate treatments. These results suggest that treatment with a combination of 1-MCP and CaCl2 can be useful as a post-harvest technique to improve both the post-harvest quality and the beneficial properties of cherry tomatoes even when the fruit is approaching the full-ripe stage.

Genotypes and harvest maturity influence the nutritional fruit quality of mulberry

Higher water content and delicate fruit texture of mulberry limit its postharvest shelf-life with poor eating quality. Therefore, the current study was planned to evaluate fruit quality characteristics of four mulberry genotypes (“Black short”, “Black long”, “Chinese white” and “Chinese long”) harvested at two maturity stages (Semi ripe and ripe). Among different genotypes, the fruit of Chinese long exhibited significantly higher fruit length, fruit weight, number of drupelets, juice weight, total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid, moisture and ash content. The maximum ripening index (TSS/TA), juice pH, antioxidant scavenging activity (ASA) and catalase (CAT) were found in Chinese white. However, Black short showed the higher value of fruit diameter, dry matter, titratable acidity (TA), total phenolic contents (TPC), protein, carbohydrates and peroxidase activity (POD). The highest superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) was observed in “Black long”. As the maturity advanced, fruit diameter, fruit weight, juice weight, TSS, TSS/TA, TA, ascorbic acid, ASA, TPC, moisture and fat content showed an increasing trend from Semi ripe to Full ripe stage while dry matter, pH, ash, protein, carbohydrates, and activities of antioxidative enzymes (POD, SOD, and CAT) showed the reverse trend. In conclusion, Chinese long genotype at a fully ripe stage exhibited the best fruit quality attributes with higher nutritional values.

Proteomic and metabolic analysis reveals novel sweet cherry fruit development regulatory points influenced by girdling

Despite the application of girdling technique for several centuries, its impact on the metabolic shifts that underly fruit biology remains fragmentary. To characterize the influence of girdling on sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit development and ripening, second-year-old shoots of the cultivars ‘Lapins’ and ‘Skeena’ were girdled before full blossom. Fruit characteristics were evaluated across six developmental stages (S), from green-small fruit (stage S1) to full ripe stage (stage S6). In both cultivars, girdling significantly altered the fruit ripening physiognomy. Time course fruit metabolomic along with proteomic approaches unraveled common and cultivar-specific responses to girdling. Notably, several primary and secondary metabolites, such as soluble sugars (glucose, trehalose), alcohol (mannitol), phenolic compounds (rutin, naringenin-7-O-glucoside), including anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3.5-O-diglucoside) were accumulated by girdling, while various amino acids (glycine, threonine, asparagine) were decreased in both cultivars. Proteins predominantly associated with ribosome, DNA repair and recombination, chromosome, membrane trafficking, RNA transport, oxidative phosphorylation, and redox homeostasis were depressed in fruits of both girdled cultivars. This study provides the first system-wide datasets concerning metabolomic and proteomic changes in girdled fruits, which reveal that shoot girdling may induce long-term changes in sweet cherry metabolism.

Metabolomic Profiling of Carotenoid Constituents in Physalis peruviana During Different Growth Stages by LC-MS/MS Technology.

With the current ongoing changes in global food demands, natural carotenoids are preferred by consumers and are gaining attention among food scientists and producers alike. Metabolomic profiling of carotenoid constituents in Physalis peruviana during distinct on-tree growth stages was performed with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology. The results show that the β rings of β-carotene are hydroxylated with great efficiency, and there is a continual synthesis of zeaxanthin at half-ripe and full-ripe stages, which is confirmed by relating the zeaxanthin content to that of its precursor (β-carotene). Lutein was, in terms of mass intensity, the most abundant carotenoid constituent (64.61µg/g at the half-ripe stage) observed in this study. In addition, γ-carotene, which is rare in dietary fruits and vegetables, was detected in the mature and breaker stages, albeit at a relatively low level. The results suggest that when we consider the variation in carotenoid content during different growth stages, Physalis peruviana can be considered a good source of natural carotenoids.

Bioactive compositions in guava (Psidium guajava) at different stages of maturation in arid conditions

The bioactive compounds, total antioxidant activity and minerals in white, pink and red flesh guava (Psidium guajava L.) varieties were assessed and quantified at three different stages of maturity in arid conditions. Changes in pectin content followed similar trend as fruit firmness and it gradually decreased till ripe stage. Total soluble solids and total sugars increased till full ripe stage but reverse was case for acidity. Ascorbic acid in white flesh guava varieties increased till colour turning stage and then after it decreased, while in coloured varieties it showed decreasing trend till ripe stage. White flesh varieties contains negligible quantity of anthocyanin, lycopene and total carotenoid while pink flesh (Lalit) had highest concentration of these compound followed by red flesh (Red flesh). Total phenols and total antioxidant activities of guava fruits were comparatively low during green mature stage and it increased progressively in later stages. Flesh colour did not show any definite pattern on phenolic content and total antioxidant activities. Phenols was recorded highest in Allahabad Safeda, while total antioxidant activities in Lalit. Stage of maturation showed variable changes in mineral contents in guava varieties. It can be inferred from the present study that the remarkable metabolic changes occur between mature green to colour turning stage.

Volatile component quantification in combination with putative gene expression analysis reveal key players in aroma formation during fruit ripening in Carica papaya cv ‘Hong fei’

The purpose of this research was to quantify volatile compound changes during papaya fruit ripening and to identify putative genes that are responsible for aroma synthesis. Volatile compounds at four different stages of fruit ripening were isolated from ‘Hong fei’ variety by solvent assisted flavor evaporation, then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, 38 different volatile compounds were identified, including terpenes, esters, lactones, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, volatile acids, S- and N- containing compounds, and volatile phenols. The contents of terpenes, esters, lactones, ketones, volatile acids, and volatile phenols showed general upward trends and reached amximum at half yellow or full ripe stages, meanwhile most alcohols, aldehydes, S- and N-containing compounds showed downward trends with fruit ripening. The putative aroma biosynthesis genes were quantified by RT- qPCR, and the correlation analysis suggested that CpLIS1 and CpP450-2 could be responsible for linalool and linalool oxide biosynthesis, respectively; BITC biosynthesis could be regulated at post-transcriptional, post-translational or enzymatic levels, CpAAT1 and CpACX1 could catalyze the formation of some specific esters or lactones. This study offered important clues for further dissection of the molecular mechanisms underlining aroma synthesis in ‘Hong fei’ during fruit ripening.

Feasibility of using Raman spectroscopy for detection of tannin changes in pomegranate fruits during maturity

Detecting changes in tannin as a major phytochemical content of pomegranate fruit can be used to monitor its maturity. In this study, using Raman spectroscopy as a rapid and noninvasive technique to distinguish four different maturity stages of pomegranate fruits (Immature stage (S1), Fairly Half-ripe stage: (S2), Half-ripe stage (S3) and Full ripe stage (S4)) on the basis of tannin changes was studied. Spectral acquisitions from fruit cross-sections in the wavelength range of 100-3000 cm−1 were carried out. A modified polynomial was fitted to the signals to remove the background and obtain desired peaks. Also, Self-modeling Mixture Analysis (SMA(was used to extract Raman signatures of different compositions from corrected spectra. After extracting of the pure component spectra using SMA from all the pomegranate fruit samples, the Spectral Information Divergence (SID) was performed to evaluate the degree of maturity of the pomegranate fruits. It concluded that Raman spectroscopy has a potential of the future development of a Raman-based nondestructive approach for subsurface detection of tannin as an indicator of pomegranate maturity.