Sour Cherry Cultivars Research Articles

Molecular characterization of Prunus mahaleb L. rootstock canditates by ISSR markers

Prunus mahaleb is widely used as rootstocks particularly on calcareous and dry soils for both sweet and sour cherry cultivars in Turkey. Genetic diversity and relationships among members of Prunus mahaleb including 29 preselected rootstock candidate accessions from Tokat region in Turkey were investigated by using 15 ISSR markers. The study revealed high genetic diversity among accessions, detecting 138 fragments, of which 103 (75%) were polymorphic. The number of polymorphic bands per primer was between 3-13, with average of 6.86. The primers 890 and 891 gave the highest polymorphism ratio (100%). The UPGMA dendrogram and the principal coordinate analysis revealed a clear differentiation among accessions. Reference rootstock, SL-64 clustered separately. The study demonstrates that ISSRs provide promising marker tools in revealing genetic diversity and relationships in Prunus mahaleb rootstock candidate accessions and can contribute to efficient identification, conservation, and utilization of germplasm for rootstock improvement through conventional as well as molecular breeding approaches.

PCR protocol optimization for genetic diversity assessment and molecular characterization of sour cherry cultivars.

Sour cherry is an economical important tetraploid species in Europe. Use of SimpleSequence Repeats (SSRs) as descriptors to characterize and differentiate a set of 15 sour cherryvarieties from three National Collections from Romania, represented by selections from local varietiesand hybrids from our country and foreign origin was taken as a leading case study for plant varietyprotection purposes. A set of sixteen SSR markers taken from the literature which was used for geneticdiversity in different genus of Prunus such as sweet cherry, sour cherry, peach, apricot. The PCRamplification protocol and annealing temperature for each primer pair was optimized for use in sourcherry. In these partial results, only for five (25%) primer pairs the optimum annealing temperature toamplify the sour cherry varieties was found. Similarly, 63°C and 66.2°C were found optimum forprimer pairs pchgms1 and UDP96-003, only the last one from all primer pairs was polymorphicbetween varieties. For primer pairs pchgms2 the annealing temperature was 64°C and 66°C; 67°C and69°C for UDP96-001; 61.3°C for UDP97-402. No more then four fragments were amplified for eachvarieties/primer pair combination. From these results we conclude the transferability and applicabilityof SSR markers for genotyping and phylogenetic studies in the genus Prunus.

BIOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES IN MICROPROPAGATED SHOOTS OF GISELA6® (PRUNUS SPP.) ROOTSTOCK INOCULATED WITH TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM STRAIN T-22

Trichoderma harzianum strain T-22 (T22) has the ability of enhancing root growth and plant development. The aim of this research is to explain the biochemical basis of the direct plant-growth-promoting activity of T22. Seven days after the transfer to root-inducing medium, in vitro-cultured shoots of GiSeLa6 ® (Prunus cerasus × P. canescens), an important Prunus rootstock for sweet and sour cherry cultivars, were inoculated with T22. Root and shoot growth were significantly affected by T22 (+76 and +61%, respectively). Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), transzeatin riboside (t-ZR) and dihydrozeatin riboside (DHZR) were analyzed by HPLC/MS. Acidification of the medium by plant, T22, and plant + T22 were assessed, whereas root morphological changes were observed by light and epifluorescence microscopic analysis. Nine days after inoculation, the levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin riboside (t-ZR), dihydrozeatin riboside (DHZR), gibberellic acid (GA3) and abscisic acid (ABA) were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The results showed that after T22-inoculation, IAA and GA3 significantly increased in both leaves (+49 and +71%, respectively) and roots (+40 and +143%, respectively) whereas t-ZR decreased (-51% in leaves and -37% in roots). Changes in DHZR were observed in T22-inoculated roots (-32%) but not in leaves, whereas the levels of ABA did not differ between the two treatments. Root activity determined a decline of medium acidity, and this effect was more marked in T22-inoculated plants (up to pH 4). Microscopic analysis revealed changes in root cell wall suberification in the exoderm and endoderm, with an increase in suberized cellular layers from 1 to 2-3, and an enhancement of cell wall epifluorescence. All these T22-induced changes promote rooting and shoot growth, and they could increase plant survival during the acclimatisation phase of nursery processes.

Morphological characterization of Prunus incana Pall. by multivariate analysis

Iran is one of the most important growing centers for wild and domesticated species and varieties of Prunus subgenus Cerasus plants. Due to the suitable adaptation of wild species to the environmental and edaphic conditions of this country, they can be used as rootstock for sweet and sour cherry cultivars as well as in breeding programs for rootstock improvement, and a program has been initiated for this purpose. As a first step towards exploring the genetic diversity of P. incana Pall., morphological traits were used to evaluate the variation within its population dispersed in East and West Azerbaijan and Kordestan Provinces of Iran. In this study, 32 accessions of P. incana and 3 accessions from related species (Prunus avium L., P. cerasus L., and P. mahaleb L.) were used. Seventeen quantitative and two qualitative traits (vegetative and reproductive) were analyzed, and significant differences among accessions were found for most traits. Results of simple correlation analysis showed significant positive or negative correlations among some important traits such as tree height, leaf area, and leaf blade length and width. Factor analysis showed that leaf area, leaf blade length and width, petiole length, fruit and stone weight, fruit length and diameter, stone volume, and plant height constructed the main factors. Cluster analysis clearly discriminated P. incana accessions from other Prunus species and also differentiated P. incana accessions according to their geographic growing sites. Scatter plot analysis using two main factors also strongly confirmed the cluster analysis results.

Concentration of ‘Oblachinska’ sour cherry juice using osmotic distillation

Sour cherry is one of the most famous and characteristic Hungarian fruit what is also commonly used in food production as a colour additive. The sour cherry cultivar, ‘Oblachinska’ was shown to be a rich source of antioxidant compounds, including mainly anthocyanins. Valuable compounds in fruit juice – vitamins, polyphyenols etc. –are heat-sensitive molecules, which should be taken into account during the process of concentration to prevent degradation. Osmotic distillation seems a suitable option to product high quality sour cherry juice because this process does not require high temperature or pressure. Raw juice with approximately 15°Brix was used for the experiment and tried to concentrate up to 60° Brix where the water activity low enough to inhibit the microbiological deterioration. Before and after the process, TPC (total phenolic compounds) and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) was measured using spectrophotometric methods to determine the effect of the osmotic distillation. Our results point out that osmotic distillation is a promising method to concentrate sour cherry juice and prevent the loss of valuable compounds.

Bioactivity of Sour Cherry Cultivars Grown in Denmark

Thirty four varieties of sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) were investigated for their total antioxidant activity, Caco-2 cancer cell proliferation inhibitory activity and effect on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. Total phenolic content, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and cancer cell proliferation inhibitory activity of sour cherries were closely correlated but not PGE2 production. The cultivars 'Birgitte × Böttermö', 'Fanal' and 'Tiki' were the three cultivars with the highest ORAC values (180, 147 and 133 µmol TE/g, respectively) and inhibition against Caco-2 cancer cell proliferation (74%, 79% and 73%, respectively). 'Stevnsbaer Birgitte' (22%) and 'Stevnsbaer Viki' (22%) inhibited PGE2 production with a similar potency as the positive controls indomethacin and NS-398. Significant differences between cultivars in all bioactivity experiments indicated that selection of cultivars is important to obtain sour cherries with better potential health promoting effects.

Polyphenol content and antioxidant activity of sour cherries from Serbia

The aim of this study is to evaluate the content of phenolics: the total phenols (TP), flavonoids (TF), anthocyanins (TA), as well as the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in three sour cherry cultivars (Prunus cerasus L.) introduced to the southeast Serbia climate conditions. Among the researched sour cherries, ?Oblacinska? cultivar contained the highest amounts of all groups of phenolics, followed by ?Cigancica? > ?Marela?. A significant difference were observed in the phenolic content among different cultivars and growing seasons (p<0.05), and the phenolic compounds were significantly higher in the growing season 2009. The examined cultivars possess a high antioxidant capacity, and all phenolics of highy correlation with TAC. The following compounds were identified and quantified using HPLC-DAD: 4 anthocyanins, the most abundant of which was cyaniding-3-glucoside in ?Marela? and ?Oblacinska?, and cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside in ?Cigancica?, and 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, the most abundant of which was neochlorogenic acid in all sour cherry cultivars. The growing and ripening process on the tree of sour cherry cv. Oblacinska was evaluated, also. The results showed significant increases in total phenols during the ripening, the total anthocyanins and total antioxidant capacity and 4 quantified anthocyanins, however the neochlorogenic acid decreased during the ripening. The study indicated that the growing and climate conditions in southeast Serbia are convenient for introducing sour cherry cultivars.

Influence of kind of trees on flowering and yielding of sour cherry cultivar Łutówka

In no examined years of the studies were found no significant differences of flowering intensity between the ownoroots trees of the cultivar Łutówka and trees budded on <i>Prunus mahaleb</i>. The kind of trees clearly, but not significantly, affected fruit mass. The growth of the ownroot "in vitro" trees were significantly less than the trees budded on <i>Prunus mahaleb</i> seedling. Fruit set and yielding of the own root trees were higher, but only in one year of study significantly higher.

The effect of foliar fertilization on growth and yield of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) cv. Łutówka

The present study, carried out in the period 2007-2009 in the Sandomierz Upland, did not show a significant effect of foliar fertilization on trunk thickness and canopy volume in the cultivar Łutówka. However, under the influence of urea applied three times in combination with Florovit at a concentration of 0.5%, a clear increasing trend was observed in the above mentioned parameters used to assess the strength of growth. In years of abundant fruiting, this study showed a significant increase, or on the verge of significance, in yield after threefold application of urea and Florovit in combination. A small insignificant effect of fertilization on fruit weight shows that the growth in yield after the application of fertilization was produced as a consequential effect of a significant increase in the length of one-year shoots and thereby in flowering intensity of the 'Łutówka' cherry trees. In the case of the sour cherry cultivar Łutówka bearing fruit on one-year shoots, foliar feeding after flowering using multi-nutrient fertilizers and urea can be recommended as a technological treatment, in particular in years of abundant fruiting.

Preliminary evaluation of pollen quality, fertility relations and fruit set of selected sour cherry cultivars in polish conditions

Preliminary experiments were carried out in spring 2006. The percentage of fruit set of 'Schattenmorelle IR-2', 'Koral', 'Debreceni Bötermö', 'újfefértói Fürtos' and 'Karneol' was higher after open pollination compared with self-pollination. The cultivar Vowi had an inconsiderably higher percentage of fruit set after self-pollination compared with open pollination. The percentage of fruit set in 'Debreceni Bötermö' and 'újfehértói Fürtos' was about 25 % higher after pollination by 'Schattenmorelle IR-2' and 'Koral' compared with the percentage of fruit set after cross - pollination of both cultivars with each other. In general, they did not appear to be good pollinators with each other. The highest quality of pollen was observed for the following cultivars: 'Schattenmorelle IR-2', 'Koral' and Vowi and the lowest result was obtained in 'újfehértói Fürtos'. The highest yield was given by the following cultivars: Vowi, Schattenmorelle IR-2 and Koral.

Fruit Quality Attributes of Sour Cherry Cultivars

The aim of this study is the evaluation of two sour cherry cultivars (“Oblačinska”, “Cigančica”) grown at Cacak (Western Serbia) by determining main physical properties such as fruit linear dimensions, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, fruit volume, sphericity, surface area, and aspect ratio at the commercial stage. Also, some attributes related to fruit quality (fruit weight, soluble solids, total acidity, ripening index, and pH juice) were evaluated at different ripening stages. “Oblačinska” shows better physical properties, except aspect ratio, when compared with “Cigančica”. Sphericity was similar in both cultivars. Fruit weight, soluble solids content, ripening index, and pH increased during ripening process, whereas titratable acidity decreased over above process. In general, “Oblačinska” had better chemical composition than “Cigančica”. Finally, fruit of both cultivars is suitable for processing and also for fresh consumption.

Incidence of postharvest decays on cultivars of pear, apricot, sour cherry and peach under two storage conditions

In this two-year study, postharvest decays of pear, apricot, sour cherry and peach cultivars under two storage methods (TC and CA) were determined after four monthes storage periods; and then causal agents of postharvest decays of two pear cultvars were idenfified under traditional cold storage conditions. Results showed that postharvest decay was lower under controlled atmosphere compared to traditional cold one. Decay was lower on pear and the largest deacy occured on peach and apricot cultivars. Cultivars of fruit species also showed differences in incidence of fruit decays. Incidence of decays was independent on year effect. Under controlled atmosphere, postharvest decay ranged between 0 an 8% for pear, and between 5 and 12% for apricot, and between 6 and 11% for sour cherry, and between 5 and 15% for peach. Under traditional cold storage, postharvest decay ranged between 16 an 21% for pear, and between 15 and 39% for apricot, and between 10 and 22% for sour cherry, and between 19 and 33% for peach. Incidence of pear fruit damage ranged between 7.5 and 12.3%. Most damage started from injured fruit or wounded fruit. Five types of damage occurred ont he pear fruits in both years: Penicillium spp., Monilinia spp., Chondrostereum spp., other pathogens and mechanical injury. The most common damage was caused by Penicillium spp., Monilina spp. and Chondrostereum spp. On both pear cultivars in both years.

Bioactivity and total phenolic content of 34 sour cherry cultivars

Thirty four sour cherry cultivars were investigated for their total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, total antioxidant capacity and cancer cell proliferation inhibition activity. Birgitte×Böttermö and Fanal, which contained the highest total phenolics (754 ± 13.4 and 596 ± 5.7 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, respectively), displayed the strongest total antioxidant capacity (63 ± 7.5 and 52 ± 6.9 μmol trolox equivalent/g, respectively) and cancer cell proliferation inhibition activity (63 ± 1.7 and 70 ± 1.6%, respectively). Surefire and Favorit were the cultivars with lowest total phenolic content (111 ± 2.2 and 74 ± 2.5 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, respectively) and total anthocyanin content (40 ± 1.1 and 21 ± 0.5 malvin equivalent/g, respectively), total antioxidant capacity (12 ± 2.3 and 9 ± 3.1 μmol trolox equivalent/g, respectively) and cancer cell inhibition activity (7 ± 3.5 and 2 ± 0.2%, respectively). Multivariate data analysis on proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) data showed discrimination of the cultivars according to their bioactivity. The present study suggests that combination of 1H-NMR and multivariate statistical analysis can be used to predict and discriminate total phenolic content, total anthocyanin content, total antioxidant capacity and cancer cell proliferation inhibition activity of sour cherry cultivars.

Direct photothermal techniques for rapid quantification of total anthocyanin content in sour cherry cultivars

The analytical performance of the newly proposed laser-based photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) and of optothermal window (OW) method for quantification of total anthocyanin concentration (TAC) in five sour cherry varieties is compared to that of the spectrophotometry (SP). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify and quantify specific anthocyanins. Both, PAS and OW are direct methods that unlike SP and HPLC obviate the need for the extraction of analyte. The outcome of the study leads to the conclusion that PAS and OW are both suitable for quick screening of TAC in sour cherries. The correlation between the two methods and SP is linear with R2=0.9887 for PAS and R2=0.9918 for OW, respectively. Both methods are capable of the rapid determination of TAC in sour cherries without a need for a laborious sample pretreatment.

THE EFFECT OF MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ON SOUR CHERRY FRUITS QUALITY

When handling and packing fresh sour cherry fruits, great care must be taken to assure adequate sanitation. Fruits have a concise shelf life, so postharvest deterioration occurs very quickly if adequate precautions are not taken to prevent it. Reduction in the amounts of colour, acid and firmness loss, incidence of decay and stem browning are potential benefits of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). In this study, the harvested fruits of 'Erdi jubileum' and 'Erdi bőtermő' sour cherry cultivars were stored at 0°C in MAP (15% O 2 , 10% CO 2 and 75% N 2 ) for 6 weeks. Weight loss, skin colour, pH, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), SSC/TA ratio and firmness of fruits were monitored. Results showed that as expected, weight loss was reduced significantly under MAP more than ambient air packaging. Fruits packaged with modified atmosphere packaging films maintained higher flesh firmness than control. Control fruits had the highest SSC content. During the postharvest period, titratable acidity and pH increased slightly. Skin colour was lighter (higher 'L') and less blue (higher 'b') under modified atmosphere than usual air packing.

Large variations in antioxidant capacity and contents of Hungarian sour and sweet cherry cultivars

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) cultivars grown in Hungary are of local origin while most sweet cherry cultivars in Hungary are introduced from other countries.A great phenotypic variability is displayed by both species. In the present study, we analyzed 10 sour and 9 sweet cherry cultivars for their antioxidant capacity, total polyphenolics (TPC) and total anthocyanin (TMAC) contents. In general, sour cherries showed higher levels of antioxidant capacity, TPC and TMAC. The anthocyanin contents varied from 0.16 to 6.85 and 1.41 to 127.56 mg/100 g for sweet and sour cherries, respectively. However, TMAC generally seems to have a limited influence on the antioxidant capacity of cherries.An amarelletype sour cherry, ‘Pipacs 1’ showed the highest antioxidant capacity (21.21mmolAA/l) and TPC (44.07mgGA/l) in contrast to its lowanthocyanin content. The detected diversity presents a choice that can satisfy different consumer preferences, and meet specific nutritional requirements.

Composition and sensory properties of sour cherry cultivars

Fruits of different sour cherry varieties cultivated, in 2008 and 2009, under organic farming and integrated cultivation conditions were analysed for their quality attributes, antioxidant activity and subjected to sensory evaluation.. Average size, weight, soluble solids, titratable acidity, total polyphenols, free radical scavenging capacity expressed as Trolox equivalent (TEAC), copper and zinc were determined in freshly harvested fruits. The obtained results indicated that, the principal component analysis can separate and distinguish the seasons of fruit production. The farming system seemed to have slight effect on quality the fruit as compared to varietal factors (genotypes). However, the total polyphenol content was uniformly less in 2009. Total polyphenols and free radical scavenging activity were significantly higher in Bosnian type sour cherries, and outstanding in Amarelle type cultivar ‘Pipacs’. There was no statistically significant difference between the sensory properties of cultivars tested by panels, except the case of ‘Pipacs’. The organolaptic investigation showed marked preference to the fruits of Eva and Petri cultivars.

Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Organically and Conventionally Grown Varieties of Sour Cherries

Liquid chromatographic analysis of the polyphenols in sour cherries was achieved on bi-functional RP columns with a gradient prepared from methanol and aqueous formic acid. For quantitative analysis the compounds were detected at 320 nm. The method was validated for linearity, precision, and recovery. Chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, and rutin were detected in sour cherry cultivars. Amounts of neochlorogenic acid were in the range 471–590 μg g−1. For the three sour cherry cultivars investigated in this study there was no significant difference between the chlorogenic acid and rutin content of cherries produced by conventional and organic farming. There were, however, significant differences between the amounts of these compounds in cherries harvested in different years.

Characterization of an expansin gene and its ripening-specific promoter fragments from sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) cultivars

The presence of expansins was investigated in various developmental and ripening stages of cherry fruits by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. An expansin gene and three fragments (242, 607 and 929 bp) of its promoter region were cloned. The genomic clone of the expansin gene contained three introns, two exons spanning a 1.6 and a 1.0 kb upstream region. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis showed that this gene was ripening specific. Chimeric promoter—GUS constructs were made and truncated forms of the expansin promoter were introduced into tomatoes by agroinjection and fruits were analyzed for GUS expression by histochemical GUS staining and enzyme activity assays. The 0.60 kb expansin promoter efficiently induced GUS expression in transgenic tomatoes, whereas constructs with the 0.25 kb promoter did not display significant GUS staining. The highest GUS activity was detected in tomatoes containing the 1.0 kb promoter construct. Both large base pair promoter constructs drove the expression of the GUS gene at an equal or higher rate than the tomato E8 promoter.

Main quality attributes and antioxidants in Hungarian sour cherries: identification of genotypes with enhanced functional properties

SummarySour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) cultivars native to Hungary and some of them grown worldwide, display great phenotypic variability. Eleven sour cherry cultivars were analysed for their main quality attributes including fruit weight, soluble solid content, acidity, pH, specific sugars (glucose and fructose), antioxidant capacity as well as total polyphenolic (TPC), total anthocyanin (TMAC) and vitamin C contents. Results showed wide variation in both fruit quality and antioxidant parameters of Hungarian sour cherries. The anthocyanin contents varied from 11.3 to 93.5 mg/100 g. An amarelle‐type cultivar, ‘Pipacs 1’ showed the highest antioxidant capacity (21.85 mmol AA L−1), TPC (49.04 mg GA L−1) and vitamin C (8.98 mg/100 g) content. Key enzymes in anthocyanin biosynthesis were expressed in both yellow‐coloured flesh and red skin of ‘Pipacs 1’ fruits at all ripening stages. The detected diversity presents a choice that can satisfy different consumer preferences, and meet specific nutritional requirements.