Fruit Shrinkage Research Articles

An evaluation on the shrinkage deformation characteristics of Chinese yam during multiphase microwave drying based on digital image processing

The deformation characteristics of Chinese yam during multiphase microwave drying (MMD) was evaluated by image processing, and the effects of MMD on the drying characteristics, physical properties, shrinkage behavior, and microstructure of the samples were also investigated. The drying time was significantly reduced by increasing microwave power density. Compared with Scheme I, the time of Scheme V was shortened by 22.22%. The moisture content at the transition point from sublimation to evaporation drying stages (TPS-E) significantly affected the shrinkage of the samples. In Scheme I, the lowest moisture content at TPS-E of 0.354 g. g−1 was found, and the dried products with the shrinkage ratio and bulk density closest to those of FD. The deformation of Chinese yam mainly appeared in the evaporation drying stage. At this stage, the rate of change in cross-sectional area of dried samples ranged from 9.74% to 26.76% for Schemes II to Scheme V, compared to 2.03% for Scheme I. Similarly, the shrinkage ratio of the dried samples in Schemes II, III, IV, and V increased from 16.82% to 21.12% at TPS-E to 29.23% to 51.28% at the end of drying, respectively. Additionally, the shrinkage caused by the pores collapse of the samples because of the high moisture content at TPS-E (Scheme III, IV, and V) during the evaporation drying stage resulted in increases of bulk density. The present study can provide valuable insights for rational control of shrinkage and deformation of fruits and vegetables in MMD. Industrial relevanceChinese yam is a widely used food and medicinal resource in China due to its rich nutritional and medicinal values. Since the moisture content of Chinese yam can reach as high as 70–80%, drying serves as an effective method to broaden its application. However, shrinkage and deformation of materials during drying are common forms of appearance deterioration that can directly impact consumer acceptability. MMD has proven to be a promising drying technology. Nevertheless, improper drying parameter settings may lead to a deterioration of the appearance quality of MMD products. Therefore, comprehending the information of shrinkage and deformation of Chinese yam during MMD and effectively regulating these processes is essential. Mastering these aspects is critical for enhancing the economic value and consumer acceptance of dried Chinese yam products.

Identification of pathogenic-like fungal species on Akebia trifoliata fruit by integrating transcriptome analysis and specific sequences of putative pathogens

Large-scale cultivation of recently domesticated crops poses great potential disease risk, so rapid and comprehensive identification of pathogenic microbes is of great significance and value for the commercial development of wild plant resources. Akebia trifoliata is widely cultivated in various regions of China, although its domestication remains in the early stages. Here, to avoid large economic losses, we identified the pathogenic-like fungi of widely cultivated A. trifoliata based on causal relationship between pathogens and hosts such as discernible symptoms, fungal diversity and differentially expressed sequences in symptomatic and asymptomatic fruits. First, we observed partly discernible symptoms of four diseases (powdery mildew, anthracnose, fruit shrinkage and brown spot) by observing disease development in the field. Second, comparative analysis of the ITS sequences between the symptomatic and asymptomatic rind bulks suggested that Cercospora, Colletotrichum and Strelitziana could contain pathogenic-like fungi. Finally, interaction transcriptome sequencing afforded strong evidence for 20 pathogenic-like fungi associated with five reported diseases in A. trifoliata and other plants and seven putative unknown diseases, among which the pathogenic-like fungi causing anthracnose, powdery mildew and brown spot were the three top richness fungi in symptomatic fruit rind. This study provides a new strategy for the rapid identification of pathogenic-like fungi in plants and provides some reference for farmers to prevent and control A. trifoliata diseases.

Realistic simulation of fruit mildew diseases: Skin discoloration, fungus growth and volume shrinkage

Time-varying effects simulation plays a critical role in computer graphics. Fruit diseases are typical time-varying phenomena. Due to the biological complexity, the existing methods fail to represent the biodiversity and biological law of symptoms. To this end, this paper proposes a biology-aware, physically-based framework that respects biological knowledge for realistic simulation of fruit mildew diseases. The simulated symptoms include skin discoloration, fungus growth, and volume shrinkage. Specifically, we take advantage of both the zero-order kinetic model and reaction–diffusion model to represent the complex fruit skin discoloration related to skin biological characteristics. To reproduce 3D mildew growth, we employ the Poisson-disk sampling technique and propose a template model instancing method. One can flexibly change hyphal template models to characterize the fungal biological diversity. To model the fruit’s biological structure, we fill the fruit mesh interior with particles in a biologically-based arrangement. Based on this structure, we propose a turgor pressure and a Lennard-Jones force-based adaptive mass–spring system to simulate the fruit shrinkage in a biological manner. Experiments verified that the proposed framework can effectively simulate mildew diseases, including gray mold, powdery mildew, and downy mildew. Our results are visually compelling and close to the ground truth. Both quantitative and qualitative experiments validated the proposed method.

Vascular and Transpiration Flows Affecting Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) Fruit Growth

Fruit growth is a biophysical process that depends mainly on the daily balance between vascular (xylem and phloem) and transpiration flows. This work examines the seasonal and daily behaviour of apricot fruit growth as well as their vascular and transpiration flows. Seasonal patterns of the shoot and fruit growth, as well as fruit surface conductance and dry matter accumulation, were monitored at regular times intervals during the season on “Farbela” and “Ladycot” cultivars. In addition, the daily courses of leaf and stem water potentials and leaf gas exchanges were monitored at 66 and 109 DAFB. On the cultivar “Farbela”, the daily patterns of phloem, xylem, and transpiration flow to and from the fruit were determined through precise and continuous monitoring of fruit diameter variations. Branch sap flow was also determined through the thermal balance method. Apricot fruit growth showed a double sigmoid pattern, typical of other drupaceous species. Stem and leaf water potential maintained values above the stress threshold, and in the last part of the season, the leaf photosynthetic rate increased. Leaves received higher sap flow in the morning and at midday, while a higher amount of xylem water was moved to the fruit in the late afternoon. Fruit showed high transpiration rates, which led to fruit shrinkage during the warmest hours of the day. High xylem inflows balanced the transpiratory losses, while phloem import was lower and occurred mainly during the mid-day hours. As a result, the fruit grew mostly in the late afternoon and night, and its growth was sustained mainly by xylem fluxes, which represented over 90% of the fruit’s total inflows. Later in the season, fruit transpiration and xylem flow decreased but did not stop even at harvest. Phloem import increased its importance throughout the season and, in the final stages, accounted for 36% and then 66% of the daily relative contribution to fruit growth. This knowledge represents a starting point to improving apricot orchard management in terms of irrigation and fertilisation.

Effects of different soil amendments and age of transplant on the post-harvest quality and shelf life of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits

BackgroundTwo separate experiments were conducted in the minor season from September to November, 2019 and major season from March to May, 2020 to determining the type of soil amendment and transplanting age that can best improve the post-harvest quality and shelf life of sweet pepper fruits at Benso oil palm plantation of Adum Banso Estate in the Mpohor District of the Western Region of Ghana. The experiments were conducted as a 4 × 2 factorial, arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Four fertilizer treatments including no fertilizer (control), 10 tons/ha of poultry manure, 300 kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 and 5 t/ha of poultry manure + 150 kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 and two ages of transplants including 6-week-old seedlings and 7-week-old seedlings were applied during the cultivation periods and were later evaluated of their effects on the post-harvest quality and shelf life of harvested fruits after a two-weeks storage period. Data collected on weight loss, shrinkage, decayed fruits and shelf life of harvested fruits were subjected to analysis of variance using the Genstat Statistical package. The least significant difference criterion was used to separate treatment means at 5% probability.ResultsPost-harvest qualities of sweet pepper fruits were not significantly influenced by age of transplant throughout the study. Fertilizer application generally increased percentage fruit weight loss, fruit shrinkage, fruit decay and reduced shelf life of sweet pepper fruits in the major season. Sole application of poultry manure mostly enhanced post-harvest quality of sweet pepper fruits in the minor rainy season, but fruit shelf life was improved if no fertilizer was applied. Application of a combination of poultry manure and NPK 15-15-15 to 6-week-old transplants gave relatively low fruit weight loss and shrinkage values. Generally, fruit quality and shelf life were enhanced in 6-week-old transplants treated with no fertilizer.ConclusionsThe use of poultry manure alone should be encouraged to probably increase yield while improving the quality and shelf life of harvested sweet pepper fruits. Transplanting of 6-week-old seedlings is also encouraged for quality harvested fruits and extended shelf life.

Modelling Volume Change and Deformation in Food Products/Processes: An Overview.

Volume change and large deformation occur in different solid and semi-solid foods during processing, e.g., shrinkage of fruits and vegetables during drying and of meat during cooking, swelling of grains during hydration, and expansion of dough during baking and of snacks during extrusion and puffing. In addition, food is broken down during oral processing. Such phenomena are the result of complex and dynamic relationships between composition and structure of foods, and driving forces established by processes and operating conditions. In particular, water plays a key role as plasticizer, strongly influencing the state of amorphous materials via the glass transition and, thus, their mechanical properties. Therefore, it is important to improve the understanding about these complex phenomena and to develop useful prediction tools. For this aim, different modelling approaches have been applied in the food engineering field. The objective of this article is to provide a general (non-systematic) review of recent (2005–2021) and relevant works regarding the modelling and simulation of volume change and large deformation in various food products/processes. Empirical- and physics-based models are considered, as well as different driving forces for deformation, in order to identify common bottlenecks and challenges in food engineering applications.

Efficacy of Aloe vera based composite edible coatings to maintain the post-harvest appearance of Ber fruits (Zizyphus mauritiana) cv. Umran

Umran is a most popular variety in India among other cultivars of Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruit. It provides nutritious fruit at very low cost even under marginal growing conditions but has short shelf life of 3-5 days. The research conducted to check the efficacy of Aloe vera gel based composite edible coating to maintain the post-harvest physical attributes of Ber fruits. After harvesting, the fruits were coated with Aloe vera gelincorporated with texture enhancer (calcium gluconate @ 1 and 2%) and antioxidant (ascorbic acid @1 and 2%) and stored at ambient storage condition sup to 15 days. Among all the treatments 75% Aloe vera gel incorporated with 1% ascorbic acid significantly reduces the physiological loss in weight (8.89%), decay per cent (10.08%), shrinkage of fruits (5.03%) and retained Better fruit weight (14.98g), diameter (2.42cm) and firmness of fruits (1.09 kg/cm2) up to 15 days. While the uncoated (control) ber fruits start losing their physical attributes after 5 days.

Impact of fruit orientation and pelleting material on water uptake and germination performance in artificial substrate for sugar beet.

Water uptake into seeds is a fundamental prerequisite of germination and commonly influenced by commercial seed enhancement technologies. The effect of fruit orientation and contrasting pelleting materials on germination and biological performance of sugar beet was assessed. The results indicated there was orientation dependent fruit shrinkage of 37% for the operculum side supplied by moisture compared to 4% for the basal pore side. The expansion rate of 5% compared to the original size, which was also observed for non-shrinking seeds, indicated this was a temporary effect. This behaviour has importance for the application pelleting materials to seeds. Pellets composed of materials exhibiting low levels of swelling act as a water distribution layer which increased germination rates. Careful selection of pelleting material is crucial as it has direct implications on germination speed and subsequent establishment rates.

Monitoring fruit daily growth indicates the onset of mild drought stress in apple

This work tests the possibility to monitor fruit growth as a potential physiological indicator for tree water status and productive performance in apple, for potential implementation in decision support systems for irrigation scheduling. Starting from 10 weeks after full bloom (WAFB), a wide range of plant water statuses was induced in a “Gala” apple orchard by applying different shading (with red-50%, white-50%, and black-20% nets) and irrigation levels (severe-SS, moderate-MS and no-NS stress). For each net*irrigation treatment combination, midday stem water potential (mSWP) was assessed weekly, while fruit diameter variations were continuously monitored using automatic fruit gauges, from 10 WAFB until harvest. Leaf gas exchanges were also monitored at 14 and 16 WAFB. As expected, the different net*irrigation treatment combinations widely affected mSWP, leaf gas exchanges and fruit growth. On all dates of measurement, leaf gas exchanges were tightly correlated with mSWP, while daily fruit growth showed significant but weaker correlations with mSWP. In all cases, these relationships indicated the onset of drought stress below the threshold of about 1.2 g fruit−1 day−1, which corresponded to mSWP below -1 MPa. Almost no correlation was found between mSWP and the other parameters derived from the fruit daily growth pattern (midday, maximum and minimum absolute growth rates (AGR) and fruit shrinkage). Based on these results, we can conclude that, although fruit daily growth rate is not related to mSWP as tightly as leaf gas exchanges, it represents a promising physiological indicator to be implemented in a decision support system for irrigation scheduling. Specific fruit growth thresholds indicating the onset of drought should be defined, depending on the orchard conditions and productive target.

The Effects of a Coating Treatment on Weight Loss, Juice Acidity, Shrinkage and Ethylene Evolution of Premature Passion Fruit:

The Effects of a Coating Treatment on Weight Loss, Juice Acidity, Shrinkage and Ethylene Evolution of Premature Passion Fruit:

Shrinkage of Food Materials During Drying: Current Status and Challenges.

The structural heterogeneities of fruits and vegetables intensify the complexity to comprehend the interrelated physicochemical changes that occur during drying. Shrinkage of food materials during drying is a common physical phenomenon which affects the textural quality and taste of the dried product. The shrinkage of food material depends on many factors including material characteristics, microstructure, mechanical properties, and process conditions. Understanding the effect of these influencing factors on deformation of fruits and vegetables during drying is crucial to obtain better-quality product. The majority of the previous studies regarding shrinkage are either experimental or empirical; however, such studies cannot provide a realistic understanding of the physical phenomena behind the material shrinkage. In contrast, theoretical modeling can provide better insights into the shrinkage that accompanies simultaneous heat and mass transfer during drying. However, limited studies have been conducted on the theoretical modeling of shrinkage of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to critically review the existing theoretical shrinkage models and present a framework for a theoretical model for the shrinkage mechanism. This paper also describes the effect of different drying conditions on material shrinkage. Discussions on how the diverse characteristics of fruits and vegetables affect shrinkage propagation is presented. Moreover, a comprehensive review of formulation techniques of shrinking models and their results are also presented. Finally, the challenges in developing a physics-based shrinkage model are discussed.

Análisis digital de imágenes para evaluar el encogimiento de fresas sometidas a tecnologías emergentes de procesamiento

In fruits, strawberries in particular, appearance is an attribute of great importance. Appearance, which can be defined by color, shape, size and visual texture, not only determines the degree of maturation or the presence or absence of impurities, but also indicates the application of technological processes or prolonged storage conditions. In most cases, an excessive shrinkage of fruits negatively affects the preference and acceptance of these products by consumers. Particularly, in the case of dehydrated fruits, the geometric modifications (shape and size) caused by the process are a matter of great concern to the industry. Traditional techniques for monitoring physical and physico-chemical parameters of quality usually are time consuming, costly, laborious, invasive and impracticable during in-line monitoring at the industry. Computer vision techniques and digital image analysis are an attractive and economical alternative to evaluate the appearance changes of foodstuffs during processing. Therefore, the present work aims the evaluation and correlation of morphological characteristics area (A), by digital image analysis techniques, and thickness (L) measured by caliber in strawberries subjected to combined treatments that include application of edible coatings (alginate-lactate), osmotic dehydration (sucrose, 60 ºB, 40 ºC, 4h) and microwave assisted drying (1,2 W/g). Related to thickness, reductions of 60% (retention 40%) were obtained for fresh (FR+MW) and fresh coated (FR_R+MW) samples. OD pre-treated samples (DO+MW and DO_R+MW) reached values of 37% (retention 63%). The digital processing of images showed cross sectional area reductions up to 56% for FR+MW and FR_R+MW samples, being significatively higher (up to 18%) for samples previously osmo-dehydrated (DO+MW and DO_R+MW). By correlating the L and A percentage retention, during MW-drying, excellent correlations were attained for FR+MW and FR_R+MW samples (R2: 97 and 98%).

Unsupervised hyperspectral band selection for apple Marssonina blotch detection

Apple Marssonina blotch (AMB) is a severe fungal disease that has been plaguing top apple producing countries in the world since it was first found in Japan in 1907. The disease causes premature defoliation and eventually leads to fruit shrinkage and reduction of starch content. AMB has a long latency period ranging from two to five weeks and at its early symptomatic stage, the disease develops symptoms similar to other apple blotch-like diseases, thus making it difficult to detect using only visible information. Hyperspectral imagery was investigated in this study for the detection of different stages of AMB. While hyperspectral images contain a wealth of information that can help distinguish between similar-looking objects, they also contain a large amount of redundancy. An unsupervised feature selection method called orthogonal subspace projection (OSP) was used to perform feature selection and redundancy reduction simultaneously. Ten optimal spectral bands were selected using the algorithm, with six out the selected bands within the same near-infrared spectral region. These bands served as input features for three classifiers—ensemble bagged, decision tree and weighted k-nearest neighbor. The selected bands and classifiers achieved overall accuracy ranging from 71.3% to 84.3%, thus indicating the feasibility of using the OSP feature selection method for reducing the size of hyperspectral data and designing a multispectral imaging system for detecting various AMB disease stages.

Analisis Pemasaran Tandan Buah Segar Kelapa Sawit di Kecamatan Putri Hijau, Kabupaten Bengkulu Utara

The sale of fresh fruit bunches in Putri Hijau sub-district has variety of marketing channels from farmers to consumers. The diversity of marketing channels should result in differences in the price levels received by farmers and the costs incurred by each marketing agency, such as freight costs, transportation costs to factories, fruit shrinkage costs, and other costs. This study aims to identify marketing channels and compare the marketing channel efficiency of fresh fruit bunches (TBS) of palm oil formed in Kecamatan Putri Hijau, North Bengkulu. Determination of farmer respondents is done by purposive sampling counted 41 people, and marketing agency respondents use snowball sampling method. The results showed that there are three channels of marketing of oil palm FFS formed, namely Channel I (farmers - collector traders - factories), Channel II (farmers - farmer groups - factories), Channel III (farmers - factories). The most widely used channels by farmers are channel I (farmers - collectors – mills) that have the highest margin and low farmer’s share. The merchandise margin and the profit-to-cost ratio indicate that only marketing channel I in Bani Village is efficient. Marketing channel I in Desa Bani Village has a marketing margin value of Rp206/kg with the value of profit to marketing cost ratio of 1.17.

Physico-Chemical Qualities of Tomato Fruits as Influenced By Pranic Treatment - an Ancient Technique for Enhanced Crop Development

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to understand the agronomic impact of pranic agriculture on tomato. Methods: Assessment of pranic treated tomatoes against the control group were done for their quality and quantity by measuring the overall yield, plant height, diameter of the stem, flowers, flowers per truss and also shelf life of tomatoes. Findings: Increase in height of 18.5% was noticed in pranic group plants as compared to control group. Also, pranic group plants had 12% more stem diameter than control group. Additionally, pranic group plants had 31.7% more flowers per plant when compared to control. When group-wise yield was verified, Pranic group yielded significantly with 31% more than control group. In addition, pranic treatment played a very useful role in controlling the fruit weight loss, shrinkage, titrable acidity and total soluble solids content of tomatoes during storage at room and refrigerated temperatures. Applications: Pranic agriculture impacted the quality, quantity and shelf life aspects of tomatoes, when compared to control.

Quality Assessment and Mathematical Modeling of Hot-Air Convective Drying of Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) Fruit

Abstract The influence of drying on the color, porosity, shrinkage and moisture of persimmon fruit during convective drying was determined by computer vision. The experiments were performed with persimmon fruit that were cut into slab 20 × 20 mm, which were arranged into a bigger slab, 60 × 60 mm. Drying process was carried out at 60 °C. Noticeable changes in quality parameters (color, porosity and shrinkage) could be observed during the drying process, where the central region of the sample evidenced less changes. Persimmon’s physical properties were experimentally obtained as the temperature function and heat and mass convective coefficients were adjusted as a time function. A numerical simulation using the Finite Volume Method allowed to describe the evolution of temperature and moisture content distributions during drying. The numerical and experimental results of temperature and moisture during persimmon drying were found to be in a good agreement.

Osmotic Dehydrated Raspberries: Changes in Physical Aspects and Bioactive Compounds

Raspberries are very labile fruits that have a short postharvest life; therefore, there is a need to develop alternative storage and processing methods for extending their shelf-life. The effect of wet (WI) and dry (DI) sucrose infusions (aw = 0.85) on color and bioactive compounds of raspberries has been studied. Additives were included: citric acid, sodium bisulfite, or both. Moisture content decreased from 85% (w/w) for control fruit to approximately 51% (w/w) for infused samples. The shrinkage of fruits was approximately 27% and 46% after WI and DI, respectively. No major color changes occurred, except for WI-bisulfite treatment. Although the total polyphenols and anthocyanin content were significantly reduced in fruits during osmotic dehydration, mainly due to the dilution effect to the medium, 100 g serving of processed raspberries would supply, in some cases, over 50% of polyphenols provided by a glass of wine. The proposed infusion dehydration methods may be considered an alternative to produce shelf-stable products based on raspberries, with an improved quality in terms of appearance.

A Comparison between the Effects of Solar and Sun (Traditional) Drying Methods on the Quality and the Quantity of Lemon in Jahrom City

In the food industry, there is an increasing tendency to develop economic ways to prepare food with high nutritional values and sensory qualities. One of the most widely used methods for preserving fruits and vegetables is drying. Citrus are among the most important tropical and subtropical fruits of the world which are highly putrescible and due to the fact that they are not available in all seasons, the main purpose of the present study is to study and compare traditional and solar drying methods of the product. After identifying one of the lemon groves in Jahrom, 80 lemon fruits perfectly uniform in the color and perfectly healthy in the lack of fungal infection were selected. In the solar drying method, 5 packs and 10 fruits in each pack and in the traditional drying method, 3 packs and 10 fruits in each pack were used. After the study of the treatment, fruit shrinkage rate, fruit moisture loss and fruit color index were measured. The results show that in both methods of drying, water absorption decreases with increasing temperature. In solar method, drying time is 17-45 percent less than that of the traditional method. In the solar technique, the fruit color is brighter than that of the traditional method. The results showed that the solar drying method is better than the traditional method. But on the other hand, the use of solar dryers because of the unavailability of equipment is not cost-effective and needs more detailed studies but in terms of the product quality is costeffective.

Shrinkage and porosity effects on heat and mass transfer during potato drying

Fruits and vegetables are porous in nature and undergo pronounced shrinkage during convective drying process. Therefore, shrinkage and porosity should be taken into consideration while predicting heat and mass transfer. This work was conducted to study shrinkage and porosity changes along with simultaneous heat and mass transport during the process. Potato slices were subjected to drying for 7h at 62°C. It was observed that shrinkage varies linearly with respect to moisture content and reduction in radial dimension of potato slices was around 35%. Porosity undergoes rapid increase after attaining certain moisture content in final stages of drying. The work was extended to study the influence of shrinkage and porosity on heat and mass transfer. Simulated results were validated with experimental values. This model can be employed to predict temperature, moisture, density profiles and to study shrinkage and porosity of various fruits and vegetables.

Moisture Diffusivity and Shrinkage of Fruit and Cladode of Opuntia ficus-indica during Infrared Drying

Drying behaviour of prickly pear cladodes and fruits was studied with an Infrared dryer. The volume shrinkage for Opuntia ficus-indica products is calculated and a linear relation was established to describe the experimental variation of shrinkage of the product versus its moisture content. Effective diffusion coefficient of moisture transfer was determined using the Fick law at three drying temperatures (40, 50, and 60°C). Shrinkage was also included into the diffusion model for the determination of the effective diffusion coefficient. The obtained results of the effective moisture diffusivity, for the cladode and the fruit, were evaluated in the range of 1.77 × 10−10–5.07 × 10−10 m2/s and 2.53 × 10−10–7.6 × 10−10 m2/s, respectively. The values of the activation energies for cladode and fruit were estimated to be 45.39 and 47.79 kJ/mol, respectively. However, these values of moisture diffusivity were estimated independently of the evolution of moisture content during drying process. Therefore, a correlation (full quadratic equation) for moisture diffusivity as a function of moisture content and temperature was developed. The parameters are obtained by a multilinear regression method. This equation was found satisfactory to describe the diffusivity evolution function of moisture content and temperature with correlation coefficients of 91.5 and 95%.