Kaolin treatment to reduce pomegranate sunburn

The aim of this study was to reduce pomegranate losses due to sunburn in south-western Spain. Summer temperatures may rise above 45 °C, resulting in sunburn damage to the fruits, which may inflict losses of up to 40% of the total yield. Data were obtained in two consecutive years. Surround^® WP, a product comprising processed, refined kaolin, was sprayed over the whole canopy and fruits four times at 2–3-week intervals from mid-June to early August, the first application at 5% and the other three at 2.5%. The resulting white coating significantly reduced fruit and leaf surface temperatures relative to the control by averages of 4.9 and 2.5 °C, respectively. Sunburn damage of fruits was reduced from 21.9% in untreated control to 9.4% in the Surround WP-treated fruits.     

Ascorbic acid level of Belgian apple genetic resources

With the help of the public, a wide collection of old apple cultivars (cvs) was established progressively at our Department from 1975 onwards. Currently, more than 1400 apple accessions are being maintained and three quarters of them are subjected to field evaluation for disease resistance and agronomic characters. This paper presents results of the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) contents of old cvs combining interesting disease resistance and agronomic features in order to promote them as cvs adapted to production systems which are more environmentally friendly or to be used as parents in breeding programmes. First, a methodological study shows the importance of the variability of ascorbic acid content depending on fruit position in the trees, fruit size, fruit skin colour and maturity stage. Statistical analyses show that the sample size of six fruits per cv is sufficient to detect a difference of 20% between cvs. Old apple cvs such as Grenadier^RGF, Transparente de Croncels, Bramley’s Seedling, Reinette des Capucins, Reinette Libotte and Reinette de Waleffe contain three and seven times more ascorbic acid than the commercial cvs Gala and Elstar, respectively. The paper highlights the need to evaluate the rich potential in our genetic resources.     

Seasonal variation in pigmentation and anthocyanidin phenetics in commercial Eustoma flowers

The seasonal change in petal color and pigmentation of 29 commercial Eustoma cultivars was studied. The flowers are basically divided into four groups according to the major anthocyanidin phenotype in association with petal coloration, i.e., delphinidin (Dp)-based (purple flower), cyanidin (Cy)-based (reddish purple flower), pelargonidin (Pg)-based (pink flower), and none (white flower) groups. The constitution of petal anthocyanidins was not changed by forcing treatment in most of the flowers. Lightness (L^*) and chroma (C^*, color saturation) showed a change along with the increase/decrease of hue angle difference (ΔH^*), thus simultaneously the chromatic tonalities tended to move to redder and bluer, respectively. Floral pigment clustering described two flower groups in a dendrogram, based on anthocyanidin constitutions as phenetic markers, which are apparently the Dp- and Pg-based phenotypes of anthocyanidin syntheses. The Cy-based flowers made a subcluster with the Pg-based flowers, indicating a close relationship in the biosynthesis of the two anthocyanidins, and suggesting the Dp- and Pg-syntheses complement one another.     

Callus induction and plant regeneration from cotyledonary explants of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida L.)

A protocol for the production of complete plantlets through multiple shoots from the cotyledon-derived calli of ash gourd (Benincasa hispida L.) is described. The embryos were excised from mature seeds and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurin (BAP, 1–5 μM). After 10 days the well-developed green cotyledons from the growing embryos were isolated and cultured on MS medium fortified with 2,4-D (1–6 μM). The cultured cotyledons gave rise to luxuriantly growing calli after 6 weeks. These calli were subcultured on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BAP (1–6 μM) alone or in combination with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA, 0.2 and 0.5 μM) for regeneration. The regenerated shoots were multiplied and rooted on quarter strength MS medium supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid or NAA (1–5 μM). The rooted shoots were transplanted to soil with 90% success.     

种植密度对机播条件下红玫瑰马铃薯结薯性状及产量的影响

为确定临沂市机播条件下红玫瑰彩色马铃薯的最佳播种密度,开展了机播马铃薯相同行距(90 cm)、不同株距(14、18、22、26 cm)的密度试验,分析了不同密度处理对红玫瑰马铃薯出苗期、现蕾期、开花期、成熟期、株高、茎粗、主茎数、马铃薯晚疫病发病情况、产量、商品薯率的影响。结果表明:随着播种密度的增加,红玫瑰物候期无明显变化,株高、马铃薯晚疫病株数呈升高趋势,茎粗和主茎数呈降低趋势,商品薯率和商品薯产量呈下降趋势。以行距90 cm、株距22 cm密度下商品薯667 m~2产量最高,为2 129.25 kg,并且马铃薯晚疫病未见发生。     

Volatile profile,fatty acids composition and total phenolics content of brewers' spent grain by-product with potential use in the development of new functional foods

Brewers' spent grain (BSG) is the insoluble residue generated from the production of wort in the brewing industry. This plant-derived by-product is known to contain significant amounts of valuable components, which remain unexploited in the brewing processes. Therefore, it is essential to develop a more detailed characterization of BSG in order to highlight its potential in developing new value-added products and simultaneously solve the environmental problems related to its discharge. The content of BSG in several biologically active compounds (fatty acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity) as well as its volatile fingerprint were assessed and compared with the composition of barley, malt and wheat flour samples. The obtained results emphasized the importance and the opportunities of the re-use of this agro-industrial by-product.     

Feasibility analysis of NIR for detecting sweet corn seeds vigor

This paper explores the feasibility of particle-based detection and grading of seed vigor based on a self-built seed single-granulation device using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Sweet corn with uniform kernel size was used for this study. The seed samples were divided into three types, they were normal seeds, artificially aged seeds and heat-damaged seeds. A 2-part spectral acquisition of each seed were performed, one for the collection of seeds that fall into the detection zone within the separation pipe, another was on the static platform, whose collection was performed on 5 faces of each seed. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to classify the original data of the seeds. In the 2 parts, the discriminant results of the unprocessed normal seeds and the artificial accelerated aging seeds, the untreated normal seeds and the heat-damaged seeds showed that classification accuracy was higher than 98%. The research indicates that the spectral data of different positions of seeds can reflect their activity information, and it is feasible to detect and classify seeds in real time in the detection area of the separation pipeline.     

一种新型阳光蔬菜工厂C系列919温室

为了解决高寒及长江流域以南多雨地区土墙温室难建问题及实现温室育种、种植自动化、机械化作业,研发了一种新型装配式冬暖式C919温室,温室通过组装完成,采用钢制螺旋桩,不用焊接,只需在地下打螺旋桩,即可实现全天候施工。温室采用五防设计(防台风、防雨、防雪、防低温、防高温),具有土地利用率高(75%左右)、建设周期短(千亩园区建设周期90 d)、设计寿命长(50年)、材料环保(采用宝钢BFS 600高强不锈钢)、建设成本使用周期费用摊销低(土墙温室的70%)、运营维护成本低(土墙温室的50%)、机械作业用工少(减少人工60%以上)等优点,填补了高寒(-40 ℃以内)及长江流域以南多雨地区大跨度、装配式、全日光能源温室的空白。     

南方高海拔地区栽培甜樱桃质地特性研究

以南方高海拔地区栽培的甜樱桃品种“美早”和“萨米脱”为试材，利用质构仪质地多面分析法（TPA）和整果穿刺法研究其贮藏过程中质地特性的变化。结果表明，贮藏过程中两个品种樱桃果肉的硬度与弹性、咀嚼性，咀嚼性与弹性均呈极显著正相关，且随贮藏时间的延长，果肉硬度、弹性、咀嚼性和果皮强度下降，果皮韧性增强，而果肉凝聚性和回复性则先上升后下降。贮藏42 d后，“美早”甜樱桃果肉的硬度、咀嚼性、凝聚性和回复性显著高于“萨米脱”甜樱桃，同时保持较低的果皮韧性，说明其更耐贮藏。     

水稻BWMK1互作基因的分离

为探明BWMK1介导的信号传导途径,采用酵母双杂交系统,构建水稻稻瘟病菌诱导后的cDNA文库,以BWMK1为诱饵,对文库进行筛选,通过验证、测序和基因编码分析,获得了7个BWMK1互作基因BWIP1～BWIP7,分别位于水稻基因组第12、2、3、10、6、4、5染色体上；7个互作基因中,除BWlP2和BWIP7未找到同...