Packinghouse Research Articles

Propiconazole resistance phenotypes in Geotrichum candidum from South Carolina peaches are linked to point mutations in GcCYP51B gene.

Geotrichum candidum Link (1809) is a yeast-like fungus that causes sour rot of peach (Prunus persica). Outbreaks of the disease have occurred since 2021 in peach fruit kept in cold storage despite post-harvest treatments with propiconazole at a commercial farm in South Carolina (SC). A total of 58 isolates, 40 from symptomatic fruit from cold storage in Saluda County (SC packing house isolates), 11 from three SC orchards in Saluda County, Spartanburg County, and Pickens County (SC non-packing house isolates), and 7 California (CA) isolates (at least 3 from packing houses) were evaluated for propiconazole sensitivity. Mycelial growth assays revealed that 6 of 7 CA isolates had the lowest EC50 values and were considered sensitive (S) to propiconazole with an average EC50 value of 0.02 µg/ml and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values >1 to < 3 µg/ml. Isolate 02J018 from CA and all SC non packing house isolates were considered reduced-sensitive (RS) to propiconazole with an average EC50 value of 0.33 µg/ml and MIC values >10 to <30 µg/ml. SC packing house isolates were considered resistant (R) to propiconazole and had an average EC50 value of 3.55 µg/ml and MIC values >300 µg/ml. Two CYP51 genes, GcCYP51A and GcCYP51B, encoding two demethylase inhibitor (DMI) target enzyme 14α-demethylases were identified, sequenced, and characterized. Two GcCYP51A and three GcCYP51B variants were found. While both GcCYP51A variants were linked to S isolates, the GcCYP51B2 variant possessing the mutation Y143F was found in RS, and the GcCYP51B3 variant possessing Y143F, E126K, and G460S mutations was identified in R isolates. The Y143F and G460S mutations had been associated with DMI fungicide resistance in other plant pathogens. No increased constitutive expression of GcCYP51A or GcCYP51B was observed in RS or R isolates. Detached fruit assays revealed that label rates of propiconazole controlled sour rot caused by S and RS but not R isolates. Our results suggest that sour rot outbreaks in a SC packing house were linked to target gene-induced propiconazole resistance in G. candidum.

Evaluation of the Geometric Configuration of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines Applied to a Packing House

Evaluation of the Geometric Configuration of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines Applied to a Packing House

SHIELDING BANGLADESH'S EXPORTABLE BETEL LEAVES: MANAGING E. coli AND Salmonella CONTAMINATION

The study examined the presence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. in soil, water, and mature betel leaf samples at preharvest stages across three upazilas in Kushtia district: Kushtia Sadar, Mirpur, and Daulatpur, although these pathogens do not typically affect betel leaf and other fresh vegetables. Researchers tested the samples before and after sanitization with calcinated calcium (CCa) from May to September 2020. They collected soil, water, and betel leaf samples from 15 farmers' fields, and initially, all samples were contaminated with E. coli and Salmonella spp. After sanitization, E. coli contamination persisted in a few samples: 22.22% in Sadar, 28.89% in Mirpur, and 35.56% in Daulatpur, while Salmonella spp. was eradicated. Potential contamination vectors included dogs (86.67%), birds (77.78%), and cats (59.26%). In Dhaka, betel leaves from the central pack house showed significant contamination differences post-washing. Before washing, 51.67% of leaves had E. coli and 41.50% had Salmonella spp. After three washes with CCa, contamination was completely eliminated for both pathogens. The study highlights the effectiveness of CCa in reducing microbial contamination but also points out the need for better contamination control strategies and training for farmers to mitigate vector-related contamination. This comprehensive study highlights the effectiveness of CCa in reducing microbial contamination in betel leaf production and underscores the need for ongoing management to mitigate recontamination risks from environmental vectors.

Physicochemical and Nutritional Characterization of Green Banana Flour from Discarded Cavendish Bananas

Fifteen percent of harvested bananas are discarded daily in the Canary Islands at packing houses because of marketing standards, mainly based on their appearance, or are retired to avoid falls in the market price of bananas. This discarded fruit is an environmental issue, and green banana flour (GBF) is an interesting management alternative for it. In this paper, the artisanal process for obtaining GBF was optimized. The study of physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of this gluten-free flour indicated a high contribution of starch, fiber, phenolics, K, and Mg to dietary intake. Storage of GBF at room temperature (20 ± 5 °C) for ten months slightly increased its moisture and acidity and decreased its starch content, phenolic content, and pH. Some color changes were observed after 5 months, but sensory characteristics were still acceptable after ten months. Green bananas storage prior to GBF elaboration showed they were suitable for obtaining good quality GBF even after 7 weeks at 6 °C, but only 4 weeks at 12 °C. Discriminant analysis classified the GBF correctly according to the cooperative origin, time, and storage temperature of the bananas used in its preparation. These results provide information that could be used in other banana-producing regions for reducing the environmental impact of fruit waste and obtaining GBF using a simple and inexpensive technological process.

An investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to cantaloupe – United States, 2022

In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state health and regulatory partners investigated an outbreak of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infections linked to cantaloupes from southwest Indiana, resulting in 87 ill persons and 32 hospitalizations reported in 11 states. Epidemiologic and traceback evidence confirmed cantaloupe as the vehicle for these infections. Based on records collected by FDA, traceback of cantaloupe exposures for 14 ill people converged on a packing house in southwest Indiana, which supplied cantaloupe to eight of the 11 points of service where ill people purchased cantaloupe. Salmonella isolates were recovered from environmental samples collected by FDA from three growers and a packing house in southwest Indiana. Whole genome sequencing analyses of these isolates found that isolates collected from one grower matched the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak strain, and samples collected from the other two growers and the packing house matched a 2020 Salmonella Newport outbreak strain. State and federal public health and agricultural partners identified potential conditions and practices that could have possibly resulted in the contamination of cantaloupe, including the presence of Salmonella spp. in on-farm, post-harvest, and off-farm environments. This is the third outbreak of salmonellosis confirmed to be linked to melons, sourced from southwest Indiana in the last decade. The 2012, 2020, and 2022 outbreaks of reoccurring and persisting strains of Salmonella illustrate the need for additional efforts to determine the source and extent of environmental contamination in the melon growing region of southwest Indiana and for outreach and education to help promote practices to reduce contamination of melons.

Sources and Prevalence of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Southeastern U.S. Growing Environments

Recent cyclosporiasis outbreaks associated with fresh produce grown in the United States highlight the need to better understand Cyclospora cayetanensis prevalence in U.S. agricultural environments. In this study, C. cayetanensis occurrence was assessed in municipal wastewater sludge, on-farm portable toilets, irrigation pond water, and spent packing house dump tank water in a Southeastern Georgia growing region over two years. Detection of the C. cayetanensis 18S rRNA qPCR gene target in pond samples was 0%, 28%, and 42% (N = 217) depending on the detection definition used, and ≤1% in dump tank samples (N = 46). However, no qPCR detections were confirmed by sequencing, suggesting false detection occurred due to cross-reactions. C. cayetanensis qPCR detections were confirmed in 9% of wastewater sludge samples (N = 76). The human-specific fecal markers HF183 and crAssphage were detected in 33% and 6% of pond samples, respectively, and 4% and 0% of dump tank samples, respectively. Despite community Cyclospora shedding and evidence of human fecal contamination in irrigation water, there was no correlation between C. cayetanensis and HF183 qPCR detections, further supporting that 18S gene target qPCR amplifications were due to cross−reactions. When evaluating C. cayetanensis qPCR environmental detection data, the impact of assay specificity and detection criteria should be considered. Moreover, additional sequence-based testing may be needed to appropriately interpret Cyclospora qPCR environmental data.

Product Development to Improve and Automate Orchard Fruit Handling

In transporting field fruits to the packing house, physical damage to the product can occur, especially if the facility is far from the orchard and needs proper traffic conditions. This study aimed to develop a solution to enhance the transportation of fruits from orchards to packing houses in the São Francisco Valley, Bahia properties. The method comprised the following steps: (1) System Definition; (2) Translation of Needs into Requirements; and (3) Generation and Detailing of Concepts. The proposed solution involves an innovative aerial transportationsystem utilizing high-strength cables and containers for moving fruits, eliminating the necessity for roads or other conventional means of transportation. This solution can potentially advance knowledge in the field and be implemented in similar contexts.

Occurrence of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe corylacearum on Hazelnuts in Israel

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L) is an emerging crop in Israel, primarily cultivated as a host plant to establish truffle plantations through symbiosis with ectomycorrhizal fungi. A significant damage and yield reduction is caused by the prevalent occurrence of powdery mildew in hazelnut trees (Sezer et al., 2017). Until recently, Phyllactinia guttata was considered the primary pathogen in Western Asia, the Caucasus region, and Europe (Abasova et al. 2018; Arzanlou et al. 2018; Mezzalama et al. 2021). However, in the last years, a new destructive species Erysiphe corylacearum has been identified as the pathogen of powdery mildew on hazelnuts in these regions (Meparishvili et al. 2019; Mezzalama et al. 2021; Kalmár et al. 2022; Zajc et al. 2023). In May 2022, powdery mildew symptoms were observed on hazelnut plants in the Ein-Zivan truffle plantation, gardens of Merom-Golan, and the adjacent garden of the packing house Pri-Beresheet in the northern Golan region of Israel. Symptoms were observed on the abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces, fruits, and husks. Disease incidence and severity ranged between 30-70% and 5-90%, respectively. Disease severity was significantly greater on the leaves of the offshoots compared to those on the tree canopy. Morphological characterization of leaf samples from ten different trees showed the following characteristics: hyphal appressoria were lobed, solitary, 1–4 μm in diameter; mycelium was amphigenous, hyaline, and septate; conidiophores vertically elevated from the mycelium 50– 80 μm long. Conidia (n= 30) on conidiophores were hyaline, ellipsoid to ovoid, 24 – 34 μm long and 15.5 – 23 μm wide. Chasmothecia in several maturation degrees appeared in October on both sides of the leaves. They were spherical (n= 30) 86 – 125 μm in diameter, with 7 - 14 aseptate straight appendages, 67 - 96 μm long, 4.9 - 7.1 μm wide, dichotomous branched at the end 42 - 56 μm wide. In each chasmothecia, there were 3-5 asci (n=30) with a width of 38 – 43 μm and a length of 48–64 μm of oval-ellipsoid shape. Asci contained 4-8 ascospores (n=30), 18 - 26 μm long and 11 - 15.5 μm wide. A pathogenicity test was conducted to fulfill Koсh’s postulates. Both detached leaves and plants of C. avellana were artificially infected by brushing conidia from infected leaves. Inoculated leaves in Petri dishes on 2% water agar (n= 5), and plants (n= 5) were incubated under 25°C and 12-h photoperiod/day. Untreated leaves and plants served as control. Typical symptoms appeared on the upper surface of the leaves within 7-10 days after inoculation. No symptoms were found on untreated control plants or detached leaves. The fungus isolated from the inoculated leaves was morphologically identical to the original isolates from natural diseased plants. DNA was extracted and the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region of five isolates originated from leaves of the tree canopy and offshoots was amplified using primers ITS1 and ITS4, and sequenced. BLAST analysis of 595 bp fragments (all identical and represented by isolate Cora1, GenBank Accession No. OR752437) showed 99% identity to ITS rDNA sequences of E. corylacearum from Georgia (MK157199) and 100% identity to isolates from Azerbaijan, Turkey and Italy (LC270863, KY082910 and MW045425, respectively) and only 83% similarity to P. guttata (accession number AB080558). To the best of my knowledge this is the first report on E. corylacearum causing powdery mildew in Israel. Future control measures to manage the disease on hazelnuts in truffle plantations in Israel should be considered.

96 The effect of embryo stage and biopsy on embryo viability

Abstract The importance of embryo biopsy is running a 50K genomic test will be completed on the DNA biopsy, giving us the ability to collect genetic prediction data before the calf is even born. The objective of this study was to compare the viability of bovine embryos (n = 24) at different stages of embryo maturation, after microblade biopsy and embryo transfer. This process was achieved by taking a small biopsy of each embryo. The results of aspirating oocytes from packing house ovaries and in vitro fertilization (IVF), within a 48 h time period marked d 0. After a 7-d incubation period, the results consisted of 14 blastocysts and 10 early blastocysts. The final sample size, of 24 embryos, differing in stages between early blastocyst (TRT 6) and blastocyst (TRT 7). All the embryos, except for one, was a Grade 1 embryo. On d 7 the embryos were grouped by stage of embryo. Each embryo was washed, and biopsied with a microblade by a single technician. After the biopsy, the embryos were incubated for a 24 h period. Immediately after the incubation period, each embryo was analyzed for viability. On d 8, TRT 7 embryos had a 50% viability rate (n = 7), whereas TRT 6 embryos had a 70% viability rate (n = 7). Data were analyzed using GLIMMIX procedure of SAS 9.4. The viability did not differ between either treatment (P = 0.58). However, the biopsy of each embryo resulted in a significant effect on embryo viability (P &amp;lt; 0.01). In conclusion, using embryo biopsy and the stage of the embryo may affect embryo viability.

Effector Repertoire of the Sweetpotato Black Rot Fungal Pathogen Ceratocystis fimbriata.

In 2015, sweetpotato producers in the United States experienced one of the worst outbreaks of black rot recorded in history, with up to 60% losses reported in the field and packing houses and at shipping ports. Host resistance remains the ideal management tool to decrease crop losses. Lack of knowledge of Ceratocystis fimbriata biology represents a critical barrier for the deployment of resistance to black rot in sweetpotato. In this study, we scanned the recent near chromosomal-level assembly for putative secreted effectors in the sweetpotato C. fimbriata isolate AS236 using a custom fungal effector annotation pipeline. We identified a set of 188 putative effectors on the basis of secretion signal and in silico prediction in EffectorP. We conducted a deep RNA time-course sequencing experiment to determine whether C. fimbriata modulates effectors in planta and to define a candidate list of effectors expressed during infection. We examined the expression profile of two C. fimbriata isolates, a pre-epidemic (1990s) isolate and a post-epidemic (2015) isolate. Our in planta expression profiling revealed clusters of co-expressed secreted effector candidates. Based on fold-change differences of putative effectors in both isolates and over the course of infection, we suggested prioritization of 31 effectors for functional characterization. Among this set, we identified several effectors that provide evidence for a marked biotrophic phase in C. fimbriata during infection of sweetpotato storage roots. Our study revealed a catalog of effector proteins that provide insight into C. fimbriata infection mechanisms and represent a core catalog to implement effector-assisted breeding in sweetpotato. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

First Report of the Occurrence of Diaporthe nobilis Causing Postharvest Fruit Rot on ‘Shine Muscat’ Grape in Yuncheng, China

In recent years, ‘Shine Muscat’ (Vitis labruscana × Vitis vinifera) has been the most popular table grape among consumers in Asian countries (Choi et al., 2021). In November 2020, fruit rot was observed in packing house 2 months after cold-stored in Yuncheng (35°16′N, 111°08′E), Shanxi Province, China. Of 38 boxes (5 kg per box) grape were selected randomly from the packing house with a stock of 7,000 kg. The incidence of grape rot was 71.5%, observed in 143 of the 200 clusters sampled. The diseased fruit showed symptoms including pedicel browning, and extending lesions and softening of berries. Samples (1 mm2) cut from the border between diseased and healthy tissue were surface sterilized with 70% ethanol for 1 min, then rinsed with sterile distilled water thrice, and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plate 25 ° C in the dark for 5 days. After subculturing for three times, 26 isolates with a similar type of fungal colony were obtained. Colonies on PDA was initially white fluffy aerial, but gradually turned grey. Pycnidia were black and globes, producing α and β conidia. α conidia abundant, aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoid, both ends obtuse, biguttulate, 6.52~9.05 μm×2.19~3.25 μm (n=50). β conidia abundant, hyaline, aseptate, filiform, flexuous to J-shaped, 22.79~36.75 μm×1.24~1.92 μm (n=50). For further identification, phylogenetic analysis of combined internal transcribed spacer (ITS), β-tubulin (TUB), translation elongation factor (EF1-α) and calmodulin (CAL) datasets were carried out. The representative isolate SS1 and SS2 were selected for identification. Primers ITS1 and ITS4 (White et al. 1990) were used to amplify the ITS region. The gene fragments of TUB, CAL and EF1-α were amplified by the primers Bt2a/Bt2b (Glass and Donaldson 1995), CAL228F/CAL737R and EF1-728F/EF1-986R, respectively (Carbone and Kohn 1999). The sequences were deposited in GenBank (SS1: MW644526 for ITS, OQ718912 - 4 for CAL, TEF-1α, and TUB, respectively; SS2: MW644527 for ITS, OQ718915 -7 for CAL, TEF-1α, and TUB, respectively). BLASTn analysis of the NCBI database indicated that the ITS, TUB, EF1-α, and CAL sequences had very high nucleotide homology (98 to 100%) to ex-type sequences for D. nobilis (CBS 116953, Gomes et al., 2013) in GenBank (ITS: KC343147, TUB: KC344115, EF1-α: KC343873, and CAL: KC343389). Phylogenetic tree based on the combined sequences revealed that the two isolates clustered well with D. nobilis. To confirm its pathogenicity, 30 fresh-harvested ‘Shine Muscat’ grape fruits were used to mock inoculate. Wounds (5 mm wide by 2 mm deep) were created uniformly at the equator of the grape fruit with a sterile puncher and inoculated with mycelial plugs (5 mm in diameter) prepared from 7-day-old fungal cultures grown on PDA (Wild 1994). The control fruits were inoculated with agar disks without mycelium. Inoculated fruits were placed in a chamber with the 80% relative humidity at 25°C for 8 days. After inoculation, all treated fruits turned brown, with significant necrotic lesions; fruits in control showed no symptoms. Fungal colonies reisolated from inoculated fruits had similar morphological characteristics as D. nobilis. Diaporthe spp. are responsible for diseases on a wide range of plants hosts, causing root and fruit rots, dieback, cankers, leaf spots, blights, decay and wilt (Gomes et al., 2013). D. nobilis causing postharvest grape rot can seriously restrict the development of local grape industry.

Whole-cell bacterial biosensor applied to identify the presence of Thaumatotibia leucotreta larva in citrus fruits by volatile sensing

The false codling moth (FCM), Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick), is a major pest of citrus fruits and other plants and is defined as a quarantine pest in several countries. Supervision and visual monitoring are crucial for the detection of eggs and larvae. There is a growing need to implement alternative pest control strategies and early detection methodologies in the packing house before shipping. Biosensors may provide a better-suited solution, as they are portable, do not require expensive equipment, and may be used with simple methodologies. In this study, a whole-cell bacterial biosensor was developed to identify the presence of Thaumatotibia leucotreta larvae in citrus fruits. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by the larvae were identified (n = 11), which were not previously tested. The change in the VOCs composition in infected and uninfected mandarin (Citrus reticulata) was examined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the bioluminescent bacterial panel. During this work, two fixation methods (alginate beads and tablets) were tested for the bioluminescent bacteria cells, and tablets were preferred due to their higher uniformity and consistency of the light signal from the cells. Furthermore, the response of the bacteria to the changes in the concentration of VOCs as a result of a change in the amount of the larvae was examined (larvae n = 3, 6, or 9). In addition, in order to demonstrate the ability of the whole-cell biosensor to detect the presence of larva within the fruit, infected and uninfected mandarins were tested on the 14th day of larval hatching. The results showed that the bioluminescent bacteria could differentiate between mandarins with and without larva. The differences in the light signals (Induction Factor (IF)) between the mandarin fruits can be seen in the results with the larva (cytotoxicity IF = 3.046, genotoxicity IF = 2.643, and quorum sensing IF = 1.954) and without (cytotoxicity IF = 1.589, genotoxicity IF = 1.149 and quorum sensing IF = 1.205). The findings of this study make it possible to further develop a prototype using bioluminescent bacteria in order to detect pests of citrus fruits. The early detection of infected fruits will allow their filtering from the crop and therefore reduce the damage to additional fruits. Even one larva can invalidate the whole stock and the plot for future export.

Perceptions from the public on farmworker contributions to the U.S. economy and attitudes toward farmworkers.

Farmworkers in the United States contribute to the trillion-dollar agriculture industry through their work in agricultural fields, orchards, ranches, dairies, processing, and packing houses. Seventy-three percent of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States are immigrants and face negative attitudes and prejudices. The present study was designed to better understand how farmworkers in the United States are perceived by nonworkers. Using a sample of 242 adult participants (Mage = 26.85, SD = 9.78; 53.7% non-Hispanic White) from the United States collected online, data were collected on negative attitudes toward immigrants, perceptions of farmworkers' contribution to the economy, and voting on hypothetical bills related to immigration. Negative attitudes toward immigrants and perception of economic contribution were both significant in estimating voting, as was their interaction. At high levels of negative attitudes toward immigrants, knowledge of the economic contribution of farmworkers buffered the relationship between negative attitudes and support for pro-immigrant voting. Specifically, those who perceived farmworkers to contribute to the economy were more likely to indicate hypothetical pro-immigrant voting. The present study highlights awareness of the importance of farmworkers to our economy in relation to attitudes toward farmworkers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supply Chain Structure of Gedong Mango in Jatigede District, Sumedang Regency, West Java

District Jatigede is the center of production of mango gedong gincu, the bigst in the Regency of Sumedang. Mango gedong gincu is unique because it has a little red color between the color yellow dominant. Although District Jatigede is one center of production of mango gedong in the Regency Sumedang, it is the second bigst production of mango gedong at the province Level after Regency Indramayu based on 2021 data. Even so, it has yet to be widely known by consumers or people. Hence, the chain supply of mango gedong is interesting to study. This case study uses an analysis structure chain supply to see the flow of products, information, and money linked to commodities mango gedong. Actor tracing in this study approaches the rapid market appraisal method. This study shows four supply chain structures; generally, the chain supplies mango gedong in the Regency Sumedang were sold to local collectors to sell to the big collectors in the Regency of Majalengka or Cirebon. That is due to the center city Majalengka and Cirebon's proximity to District Jatigede compared to Sumedang city center. Apart from that, there are packing houses in Majalengka and Cirebon that are also representative.

Assessing the efficacy of agricultural cold chain facility expansion in China

This study determines the effectiveness of agricultural cold chain facilities in preserving quality and extending storage time of vegetables and fruits in China. National data were collected through interviews with 10,263 farmers across all provinces except Tibet. Using ordinary least squares regression analysis, several conclusions and policy implications emerge. First, cold chain facilities significantly reduce loss ratios (about 2% on average) and extend storage days for fruits (up to 28 days), but some facilities fail to demonstrate significant effects for vegetables. This implies that stakeholders, especially vegetable producers, must strategically select storage methods. Second, regional disparities exist, with the less developed Northwest facing more acute post-harvest losses, underscoring the need for tailored interventions addressing infrastructure gaps. Third, cold chain transportation distinctly influences vegetable preservation, decreasing losses and storage time. Improving vegetable transport efficiency benefits farmers and consumers. Fourth, supporting facilities like packing houses extend storage days for fruits and vegetables, highlighting the need to construct such infrastructure especially where shipping is limited. Moreover, with the projected expansion of cold chain facilities in China, these findings offer crucial guidance for policymakers, agencies, and farmers in selecting and distributing infrastructure to mitigate losses and support agricultural sector growth. As China advances its cold chain capabilities, this study demonstrates the vital role of such facilities in enhancing food security, reducing waste, and providing fresh produce to consumers.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN IDENTIFIED PACKHOUSES FOR GRAPES AT NASHIK DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

This research work was conducted on “Waste Management Practices in identified packhouses for grapes at Nashik District, Maharashtra”. The pack house plays a crucial role in the export of grapes (Vitis vinifera), and several operations were carried out to preserve the grapes quality. Different wastes generated in the packhouses were surveyed and their utility was analyzed. A total of nine packhouses were included in the survey. Plant managers, executive officers in charge of quality control, and production executives were interviewed. A standard questionnaire was created for data collection. Various parameters to fulfill the objectives were included in the questionnaire. Observations showed 4 pack houses showing damage and no loss during transportation in 5 packhouse from farm to packhouse. Upon reception, the weight of the grapes was recorded and the waste generated by each of the eight packhouses was noted that ranged from 26.23% (packhouse 4) to 37.6% (packhouse 3) over the period of ten days. The different packhouses utilize their waste as raisins and animal feed (44%) and vinery (6%) etc. Wastes were also utilized as by-products such as manure (21%), animal feed (21%) and new product development, (NPD) (58%). This data can be beneficial to the packhouse to review their process and to reduce the waste thereby increasing the economic return of the packhouse and reducing the pollution to the environment.

A Study on Agricultural Infrastructure in Potato Cultivation with Reference to Chikkamagaluru District

Infrastructure plays a vital role in agriculture at every single step such as supply of inputs, sowing of crops and for post harvest management. Investment on infrastructural practices in agriculture must be in a planned manner to avoid post harvest losses and enhances productivity. India is lacking with infrastructure up gradation with respect to storage houses, pack houses, absence of proper supply chain for agricultural inputs. However, the present study has been undertaken to analyze agricultural infrastructure in potato cultivation. The study focuses on to study the impact of infrastructure development in potato cultivation, to study the present condition of agricultural infrastructure in potato cultivation, to evaluate farmer’s satisfaction towards agricultural infrastructure. The data for the present study has been collected by meeting 50 potato cultivators from Chikkamagaluru district with the help of structured questionnaire. It was found that majority of the potato cultivator prefer resource based infrastructure development and strongly agree that agricultural infrastructure leads to high yield.

Impact resistance and damage mechanism of polyurea coated CFRP laminates under quasi-static indentation and low velocity impact

In this study, polyurea coating has been applied to improve the impact resistance of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) battery pack housing under automotive crash condition. The quasi-static indentation test and low velocity impact test were carried out to study the impact response of polyurea coated unidirectional and plain woven CFRP laminates with three coating methods. The impact velocity was selected from 10−4 m/s to 4.5 m/s. In addition, damage mechanism and failure modes of the laminates were analyzed, focusing on the identification of dominant damage modes and crack evolution. It was demonstrated that thin polyurea coating can improve the impact resistance of both unidirectional and plain woven CFRP, while the former was more significant than the latter. The specific energy absorption had 94% and 51% increment under low velocity impact and quasi-static indentation. The front coating method was the best polyurea coating method. Results also revealed that the polyurea coating increased the damage area and fracture crack of polyurea coated CFRP laminates with different damage mechanisms. This study confirms that the use of polyurea coated CFRP laminates is an interesting and promising structure candidate for crash safety design and lightweight design of battery pack housing.

Detection of subsurface bruises in plums using spectral imaging and deep learning with wavelength selection

Plums are widely consumed, both fresh and processed. During harvest, handling, or transportation, they are exposed to static and dynamic compression forces exceeding the critical stress for tissue damage. Compression-related damage typically develops further as the fruit ripens and softens, facilitating the occurrence of rot, which might cause significant losses in the supply chain. Early detection of these damages is crucial to sorting the damaged fruit out and deviating it to processing, thus preventing food waste. However, early-stage bruises or damages on plums are not visible, especially not in dark-skin cultivars. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the potential of hyperspectral imaging in the 430 to 1 000 nm range and deep learning algorithms to detect these invisible bruises at an early stage. To this end, 'Presenta' plums were impacted at three different levels to simulate varying degrees of damage. Images of both bruised and non-bruised plums were taken immediately after bruising and 24 and 48 h after bruise induction. Three distinct CNNs were trained to analyze the images. Two of these networks were implemented using transfer learning (ResNet and HSCNN), while the third was custom-designed for this specific purpose. The most informative wavelengths were identified as inputs for the CNNs employing PCA. F1 scores over 81% were obtained in all cases, and almost 100% accuracy was obtained in classifying the bruised plums with the highest impact energy of 0.50 J. Thus, detecting and classifying bruised plums using only three wavelengths is possible, paving the way for in-line sorting with multispectral cameras in packing houses.

First report of Didymella macrostoma causing calyx-end rot of pear (Pyrus communis) in The Netherlands.

Pear (Pyrus communis) is an important fruit crop in the Netherlands, with a total production of 400,000 tons in 2020, and 'Conference' is the main pear cultivar that comprises 80% of total pear production area. In the Netherlands, pears are kept in controlled atmosphere cold storage (-0.5°C) up to 11 months after harvest. Calyx-end rot incidences of 1% to 5% were observed on 'Conference' pears from different orchards in surveys from 2019-2021 in packing houses in the Netherlands. Infections showed 1 to 3 cm brown necrosis. Lesions were round, slightly sunken and next to or including part of the calyx. To isolate the causal agent, fruit were rinsed with sterile water, lesions were sprayed with 70% ethanol until droplet runoff, the skin was removed aseptically with a scalpel, and tissue under the lesion was isolated and placed onto Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) (Oxoid, UK). The PDA plates were incubated at 20°C in the dark, and hyphal tip isolates were transferred to fresh PDA plates. Colonies on PDA were rosy-whitish to peach-colored. Colonies grown on oat meal agar (OA) under UV light were peach to red color, aerial mycelium sparse, and produced a pink to salmon colored conidial matrix. Conidia were irregular-ellipsoidal to allantoid, smooth, hyaline and usually with one or several gutulles. Conidia were sometimes one septate and measured 15.2±2.8 x 4.0±0.7 μm (n =14), but mostly aseptate and measured 7.9±1.7 x 3.2±0.6 μm (n =100). The fungus was morphologically identical to Didymella macrostoma (syn. Phoma macrostoma) (Boerema et al. 2004; Hou et al. 2020). The identity of four representative isolates, WURR-206, WURR-223, WURR-227 and WURR-308, from affected pears from four orchards in the Netherlands, was determined by multilocus gene sequencing. To this end, genomic DNA was extracted using the LGC Mag Plant Kit (Berlin, Germany) in combination with the Kingfisher method (Waltham, MA). Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA, the large-subunit rRNA (LSU) region, partial sequences of beta-tubulin (TUB) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1) gene region were amplified with primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), LROR/LR5 (Vilgalys and Hester 1990), Btub2Fd/Btub4Rd (Woudenberg et al. 2009) and EF1-983F/EF1-1567R (Rehner and Buckley 2005), respectively. Sequences were deposited under GenBank accession numbers ON077588-ON077591 (ITS), ON113487-ON113490 (LSU), ON098515-ON098518 (TUB) and ON098519-ON098522 (TEF1). MegaBLAST analysis revealed that the ITS, LSU, TUB sequences matched with 100% identity to culture collection sequences of Didymella macrostoma in GenBank MH854841 (ITS), MH866341 (LSU), MN983895 (TUB). The TEF1 sequences matched with 99.7% identity to TEF sequence of Didymella macrostoma MT454020. Subsequently, Koch's postulates were performed on 10 'Conference' pears per isolate (WURR-206, WURR-223, WURR-227 and WURR-308). Fruits wiped with 70% ethanol were inoculated in pathogenicity tests with an agar disk (5 mm diameter) of D. macrostoma prepared from the actively growing edge of 14-day-old cultures grown on PDA. Inoculated fruits were sealed in plastic bags and were incubated in darkness at 20°C. Typical symptoms appeared 7-10 days after inoculation on all pears. PDA-only controls remained symptomless. Fungal colonies isolated from the lesions and cultured on PDA morphologically resembled the original isolate from the infected pears. The identity of the re-isolations was confirmed as D. macrostoma by sequencing, thus completing Koch's postulates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of D. macrostoma causing calyx-end rot of pears. The identification of this causal agent is important knowledge necessary for developing control measures for postharvest diseases of pear.