Evaluation of Pomological and Morphological Characteristics and Chemical Compositions of Local Pear Varieties (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyrus communis</Emphasis> L.) Grown in Gumushane,Turkey

The aim of the present research was to investigate the fruit quality of twenty different local pear varieties (Pyrus communis L.), namely Ahlat, Ankara, Arpa, B?ld?rc?n, Çermai, Cinci, Gelin Bo?an, Hac? Hamza, Hah?r, Kabak, K?z?l, Kokulu, Mehrani, Menendi, Sulu, ?algam, Tokat Sultan?, Tur?u, Yaz, and Yaz Meyri?i, grown in Gumushane province in terms of pomological and morphological characteristics and chemical compositions. The fruit mass, fruit width and length, fruit stem thickness and length, fruit kernel width and length, hardness of pulp, number of seeds, leaf width and length, leaf stem length and thickness, and water soluble dry matter (WSDM) of the pear fruits have been determined as pomological and morphological characteristics. On the other hand, the chemical compositions of the pear varieties have been evaluated in terms of protein, ash, sucrose, fructose, glucose, total sugar, titratable acidity, moisture, and mineral element levels.Both pomological and morphological results demonstrated that the local pear varieties are important in terms of rehabilitation studies and detailed selection studies on these local varieties should be performed. The chemical analyses result of the pear varieties revealed that there is no component that may be harmful to human health when consumed, and also these varieties contains the necessary amount of mineral elements.     

Ästhetische Premiumfrüchte trotz nasser Klimate – Obstbau in Südkorea

Horticulture Korea today earns 10 billion euros, to which fruit contributes 2.6 billion euros and vegetable production 6.7 billion euros. Apple, kaki, nashi, grape and Citrus contribute 100,000?ha to the overall fruit acreage of 188,000?ha. Koreas fruit industry stagnates and lacks trainees. The consolidation in the apple industry in the last ten years from 53,000?ha in 1995 to 26,000?ha today was due to over-sized aged trees on vigorous rootstocks and – by Asian standard – small-sized, sour, green and low-priced apple varieties like ‘Golden Delicious’. The new Korean cultivars ‘Hongro’ (12%) and ‘Kamhong’ (3%) supersede – apart from the major cv. ‘Fuji’ with a 65 % market share- late ripening and poorly coloured Japanese cv. ‘Tsugaru’ (8%) and ‘Kogetsu’ (5%). Apple harvest extends from August until mid November. The 200,000?t strawberries are from protected cultivation on 7,000?ha. Korea produces 2.3 million t fruit and is largely self-sufficient (84%) for fruit, except for bananas and Citrus, with 440,000?t imports and 33,000?t exports (Satsuma mandarins and Nashi to Taiwan and Japan) and 92% self-sufficiency for vegetables. Fruit consumption of 56?kg/head is half that in Germany with 120?kg/head and vegetable consumption with 170?kg/ha twice that in Germany of 90?kg/head. Apart from university research, the rural development agency (RDA) comprises a central horticultural research institute (NHRI) in Suwon with a dedicated apple (Gunwi, Daegu) and nashi (Naju) research station with extension service. Apples, peaches and nashi are bagged, particularly for export, to fulfil the fruit quality requirements. These comprise a cosmetic skin finish free of blemishes and lenticels, 250–400?g fruit mass, (dark) red colouration and sweet (13–18?° Brix) taste without acidity (0.3–0.4%), resulting in a sugar acid ratio of ca. 43?:?1 with farmgate prices of 2.4?€/kg and retail prices of 2.8–4.8?€/fruit. Historic, Japan inflicted, measures such as defoliating of fruit-bearing branches and bagging to protect the peel, which will be consequently removed with valuable nutrients, are now being questioned and re-considered. Overhead irrigation protects the orchards from frost and hence prevents alternate bearing. Korean apple orchards are devoid of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), apple canker (Nectria galligena) and fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), despite large annual precipitation of 1,000–1,500?mm, and hence require few pesticides. With farm sizes of 0.8?ha, the 41,000 fruit farmers are not very mechanised; 3% of them subscribe to organic farming and a quarter to a voluntary IFP scheme. GAP is discussed, but QS-EUREP GAP quality schemes are not implemented given the large farm number and few fruit exports.     

Determining the Physico-Chemical Characterstics of the Rosehip Genotypes Grown Naturally in Adiyaman Province

Turkey is an important gene centre of rosehip populations and rosehip is naturally grown in the province of Ad?yaman. This study has been conducted on rosehip fruits found in various altitudes in Ad?yaman to determine the changes of their physico-chemical characteristics. The fruit weights of the genotypes used in the study ranged between 2.72?g–1.29?g, fruit width between 14.12–10.44?g and fruit length has ranged between 23.18?mm–18.62?mm. The rosehip genotypes to be processed to food are required to have a bulky fruit and a high amount of fruit flesh. The genotype with the highest fruit flesh ratio was found to have the lowest seed weight by 0.25?g, while the genotypes with the highest seed weight had this value ranging between 0.50–0.59?g. Rosehip genotypes dry matter ratio has ranged between 44.27 and 37.11%. While the a*, b*, C* and h° values of rosehip fruits had significant differences based on the genotypes, L* values had similarities. Genotypes had ranging WSDM contents of 33.56–22.50%, TA contents of 2.96–1.57%, pH values of 4.06–3.82, C vitamins of 782.34–352.16?mg/100?g, total phenol contents of 5.42–3.62?mg GAE/g DM and antioxidant activities of 113.60–56.80?µmol TE/g DM. The rosehip fruits containing high levels of fructose and glucose were found to be low in saccharose content. Fructose, glucose and saccharose contents of rosehip genotype fruits were found to be 22.93–16.86, 20.22–13.77 and 0–0.90?g/100?g DM, respectively. According to the outcomes of the study, physico-chemical characteristics of the rosehip fruits displayed significant differences, and these differences were affected by type, genotype and ecologic conditions.     

The Effects of Some Summer Pruning and Humic Substance Applications on The Nutritional Value of ‘Alphonse Lavallée’ Grape Cultivar

Viticulture is an important agricultural branch in Turkey. Grape is the most grown fruit species in Turkey. The study was conducted with ‘Alphonse Lavallée’ grape variety (Vitis vinifera L.) grown on grafted 1103 Paulsen rootstock in Turkey in 2016. In the study effects of Control (C), 1/3 Cluster Tip Reduction (1/3 CTR), Shoot Tip Reduction (STR), Humic Substance Application (HS), 1/3 CTR?+?STR, 1/3 CTR?+?HS, STR?+?HS, 1/3 CTR?+?STR?+?HS applications on nutritive values were investigated. According to results; the maximum dry matter content 87.64?g/100?g with HS, 87.76?g/100?g with 1/3 CTR?+?HS, 87.78 with STR?+?HS and 87.67 with 1/3 CTR?+?STR?+?HS applications; the maximum crude protein 3.38?g/100?g with HS and 3.40?g/100?g with STR?+?HS applications; the maximum crude cellulose 4.46?g/100?g with HS application; the maximum total sugar content 64.64?g/100?g with STR and 64.64?g/100?g with HS applications were obtained. No statistically significant difference was found in terms of crude ash content.     

Apfel oder Acai: Brasiliens Obstbau im ökonomischen und klimatischen Wandel

In times of recession with a 7–10% inflation rate, drop in consumption and loss in value of the Real currency, Brazil as the third largest fruit producer with 46 mil t fruit on 2.2 mil ha (2013), exports ca. 3% of its production worth ca. 765 mil (2013) – 807 (2014) US $, of which 80% is destined for Europe – the fruit export target for the future is 1 bil US $. Apple (cv. ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’) production under Southern hemisphere conditions (26–31°S) in Brazil rose from 0.6 mil t in 2002, peaked at 1.4 million t on 39,600?ha in 2011/12, declining in 2012/13 to 1.05 mil t due to orchard reductions in Fraiburgo as a result of lack of chilling, 1.16 mil t in both 20131/4 and 2014/15 and then 0.8 mil t in 2015/16 on 36,090?ha, resembling average apple yields in Germany on 31,400?ha.Apple orchards are essentially free of fire blight and codling moth, but with 1700?mm annual precipitation, they are affected by the scab and Glomorella fungi. Climate change affects apple production: Lack of chilling, caused by cold winters, induces vertical vegetative branches, flat speckled fruit with long pedicels (fruit stalks; cv. ‘Gala’), sunburn (cv. ‘Fuji’). Warm autumns result in a lack of fruit colouration in both varieties and prevent the cultivation of high chill apples, pears and plums.Three major fruit, orange (7.5?kg), banana (6.8?kg) and apple (cvs ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’; 4.2?kg apples/head/year; 2014) dominate the overall fruit consumption of 31.4?kg fruit/head/year compared with 36?kg beef, 34?kg pork and ca. 10?kg poultry resulting in ca. 80?kg meat/head/year in Brazil.In the last three years, a new range of storable apple varieties like ‘Venice’ and ’Daiane’ as well as ‘M 58/07’ and ‘M 10/09 – these latter two, still without a variety name – have been, like ’Eva’ added to the existing new breeds from EMBRAPA as very early variety (harvest in January; low chill; 150 CH) and to the summer varieties ‘Condessa’, ’Monalisa’ and ’Princesa’ (all 300–450 CH) without storability; red mutants of ‘Gala‘ (‘Gala, Maxi’ from RASIP) and of cv. ‘Fuji’ (‘Fuji Suprema’) both with 500–600 CH have been bred for growing in Brazil’s higher altitudes. The new cultivars provide medium-sized fruit, bright red peel colour and sweet taste with little acid and a sugar: acid ratio of 25–55:1, as required by Brazil’s domestic market, but so far lack market acceptance and a marketing concept.     

苹果苦痘病的发生与综合防治研究进展

苹果苦痘病又称苦陷病,是苹果成熟期、贮藏期因缺钙而引发的一种常见生理病害,已成为世界范围内影响苹果经济性状的首要病害之一。作者对苹果苦痘病的症状和发生原因进行综述,并总结其防治方法,以期为生产中苹果苦痘病防治提供参考。     

Obstkonsum in China �C Anbau, Angebot und Preise

As a Northern hemisphere fruit producer, China??s harvest time overlaps with that in Europe and the US and has been dominating the worldwide fruit market. Prices and sources of fruit in China were examined in supermarkets in Beijing in May 2011 and combined with the official Chinese Agricultural Yearbook to analyse China??s fruit industry:

1. China has become the world??s no 1 for apple (25?C30 mil. t), pear (13.5 mil. t) and Citrus (23 mil. t) production based on the Chinese statistical agricultural yearbook (2009), and no. 3 for strawberry (0.65?C0.8 mil. t), with an overall fruit production of 105?C113 mil. t/year and a tendency to increase domestic fruit production and consumption.
2. Fruit acreages, reported in 2009, were 2 mil. ha for apple, 1 mil. ha for pear (inclu-ding Nashi) and 2 mil. ha for Citrus and 0.083 mil. ha for strawberry totalling 10.7 mil. ha for fruit production in China, with a tendency towards slightly decreasing orchard acreage. The average farm size was ?£?0.5 ha.
3. Fruit consumption in China was calculated as 18?C21 kg apple/head/year, 10.1 kg pear/head/year (incl. Nashi) and 77?C81 kg fruit/head/year based on 1.33 billion inhabitants and production data; this is a rise in domestic fruit consumption from 45 kg in 2002/2003 to 77?C83 kg fruit/head/year in 2008/2009.
4. Jujube fruit yielded a farm gate price of 1.20 ?/kg and cv. ??Fuji?? apple 0.55 ?/kg (5 Yuan) as for most pome and stone fruit (with higher prices in the farm shop), which doubled to 1.10 ?/kg after sea export from Qingdao harbour to Rotterdam.
5. Prices for Chinese cv. ??Fuji?? apples in Beijing supermarkets ranged from ? 0.84/kg for a poor class II to ? 2.80/kg for class I fruit. Three (??Red Delicious??, ??Gala?? and ??Granny Smith??) out of five apple varieties on sale out-of-season in China??s Capital were imported from the US or Chile, with higher prices ranging from ? 3.25 for imported cv. ??Gala??, 4.15 ?/kg for ??Red Delicious?? to ? 4.90 for cv. ??Granny Smith??.
6. The Chinese viz Asian taste prefers large, juicy and sweet, red or yellow fruit with little acidity and smooth skin viz peel finish. Surprisingly, ??Granny Smith?? apples were sold as ??green apples?? without variety name at the highest price of all apple varieties.

     

Mechanische Fruchtbehangsregulierung bei Apfel verbessert Fruchtgröße,Fruchtfestigkeit, Fruchtausfärbung und die Source: Sink – Verhältnisse mit mehr Einzelfruchtständen (Singlets) bei ‘Gala’

The objective of the MSc project was to improve fruit quality, i.e. fruit firmness, colour and size, by mechanical blossom thinning. Ten-year-old slender spindle apple cv. ‘Gala, Mondial’ trees at Campus Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany with an intense flowering of 7–8 on the 0–9 scale were blossom-thinned on 21 April 2009; unthinned trees served as control. Rotor speeds were 360 rpm or 420 rpm at 5 or 7.5 km/h tractor speed using the new mechanical thinning device developed at the University of Bonn in 2004–2006. Therein, a vertical mast supports three horizontal rotors, whose vertically rotating tines remove excessive flowers; the device was mounted on the front three point hitch of the tractor with the following results:

1. Mechanical thinning reduced the number of apple fruit from 18 per branch section in the un-thinned control, 12–13 in the medium to 8 fruit in the strongest thinning (420 rpm, 5 km/h).
2. Similarly, the number of singlets (one fruitlet/flower cluster) nearly doubled from ca. 2 per branch in the control to 3–4 after mechanical thinning, as intended.
3. The natural June drop after mechanical thinning resembled that in the un-thinned control.
4. Mechanical thinning increased fruit mass by 20 g—48 g relative to the un-thinned control.
5. Mechanical thinning with 420 rpm increased the portion of premium fruit >?70 mm (class I) by 43?% (7.5 km/h) and 63?% (5 km/h); combined mechanical and hand-thinning yielded the largest portion of fruit >?70 mm (70?%), but with a dramatic loss in yield (55?%).
6. Mechanical and manual thinning improved the portion of well coloured fruit (75–100?% coloured) (78–98?%) when compared to the un-thinned control fruits with 55?%, probably due to selective removal of shaded fruits from the inner tree canopy.
7. Overall, mechanical thinning alone gave better results than hand thinning alone or its combination with hand-thinning in cv. ‘Gala’; mechanical thinning waived the need for hand thinning in this experiment.
8. Mechanical thinning improved fruit firmness from 9.4 kg/cm² in the un-thinned control to 10.4 kg/cm².
9. Neither vegetative growth nor subsequent fruit drop were stimulated by this type of mechanical thinning.
10. The risk of both alternate bearing and over-sized fruit was waived due to the variety employed.
11. An economic evaluation showed a net profit of € 220/ha in the weak (420 rpm—7.5 km/h) aνô € 1,844/ha in the intermediate (360 rpm—5 km/h), but a net loss of € 1,120/ha (420 rpm—5 km/h) for the strongest thinning treatment, assuming a cost of € 120/ha for the mechanical treatment and a saving of € 200 for reduced hand thinning.

Overall, the positive results of a better fruit quality (size, colour and firmness) offer the potential of mechanical blossom thinning in cv. ‘Gala’, which is difficult to blossom-thin chemically.     

苹果杂种树叶片在预选中的应用研究

作者研究了苹果杂种实生树果实与成年期叶片、成年期叶片与童年期叶片部分性状相关性,以解决早期选择问题.结果表明,苹果杂种实生树成年期叶片叶柄短与大果型、叶片面积大小与果实大小、叶形指数与果形指数之间存在着显著的正相关性;成年期叶片与童年期叶片在叶柄长度、叶片面积、叶形指数上又存在着极显著的正相关性.苹果育种工作者可以利用果实与叶片间的这些相关性,进行实生苗的早期选择和预先选择,淘汰不良的类型,减少供选杂种的数量,提高育种效率.     

Holzhäcksel- und Miscanthusmulch erhalten die Bodenfeuchte und fördern die biologische Bodenaktivität sowie vegetatives und generatives Wachstum junger Apfelbäume

Tree rows of a two-year-old apple (cv. ‘Topaz’) orchard in Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany, were mulched with either a) shredded broadleaf tree trunks (5?cm; 29?t dm/ha) in January 2005, b) high (6?cm; 17?t?dm/ha), or c) low (3?cm, 7?t dm/ha) shredded stems of Miscanthus in July 2004 to conserve resources and achieve closed systems; uncovered soil served as control. The following results were obtained in this MSc thesis during the 2005 growing season:

1. Soil covered with any of the three mulches mineralised 7–14?kg less nitrogen per hectare throughout the growing season resulting in a more balanced nitrogen mineralisation. The reduction in nitrogen supply prevented late vegetative growth and contributed to good fruit colouration.
2. The largest soil respiration was recorded with wooden chips as mulch with a peak of 1.6?CO₂?m^–2?h^{– 1} in June/July, followed by Miscanthus mulch and the uncovered control, which indicates enhanced microbial activity in the summer as a result of medium C/N ratio, warming and better aeration of the wood chips.
3. The organic mulches preserved soil moisture with values of less than 53 centibars and with less fluctuation than in the control.
4. The organic mulches reflected ca. 10% of incident PAR 1?m above ground, i.e. more light than uncovered soil, all without affecting fruit colouration.
5. The two thicker (5?cm and 6?cm) organic mulches suppressed weed population by 63–67% relative to the control.
6. The two thicker (5–6?cm) organic mulches improved potassium uptake by the apple leaves with 1.5 % K relative to 1.3 % K in the control on a leaf dry matter basis, but reduced their calcium and magnesium content.
7. Wood chips as mulch improved vegetative growth of the apple trees during the growing season, measured as trunk diameter, of 4?mm, followed by 3.6?mm of the high Miscanthus and 2.8?mm in both the low Miscanthus mulch and the control.
8. The organic mulches enlarged apple fruit diameter from 78?mm in the control to 80?mm with a concomitant increase in fruit weight from 180?g in the control to 185–188?g.

     

Preparation and Quality Evaluation of Nutritionally Enriched Jam Made from Blends of Indian Blackberry and Other Fruits

Jamun (Syzygium cumini) is a tropical, underutilized fruit which is highly perishable in nature. It is a good source of vitamin C, tannins, gallic acid and anthocyanins and its beneficial effects are mostly due to the presence of bioactive compounds (pigments and phenolic compounds) in it. Due to astringent and fibrous nature, preparation of jam from jamun pulp is quite difficult, but other fruits (apple and kiwifruit) can be incorporated in it to improve its quality. This study aims to develop jam from blends of jamun with other fruits and analyse various physico-chemical, nutritional, textural and sensory properties. It was found that physico-chemical properties of jams were not found to vary greatly, but the jamun–kiwifruit jam was found to have fairly high amount of antioxidants(46.75 ± 0.67%), tartaric acid (26.24 ± 0.02 mg/100g sample), ascorbic acid (0.08 ± 0.01 mg/100 g sample) and lactic acid (23.95 ± 0.01 mg/100g sample) and lowest amount of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (0.38 ± 0.04 mg/100 g sample). Jamun jam and jamun–kiwifruit jam possessed the texture required for jam while jamun–apple jam was found to be a relatively harder gel. Jam made with jamun and kiwifruit pulp was found to have highest acceptability on the basis of sensory evaluation.     

Mechanische Fruchtbehangsregulierung

The objective of the present study was to thin apple flowers without use of chemicals, in order to improve fruit quality, reduce labour for hand thinning and overcome alternate bearing. The newly developed device comprises three rotors with adjustable angles and vertically rotating ropes, which remove excess apple flowers. Eleven year-old cv. ‘Braeburn’ apple trees were thinned at flower opening (BBCH growth stage 61) with the new device in Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany. Adjacent untreated, hand-thinned or chemically (benzyladenine-)thinned apple trees of the same rows served as controls. Tree branches remained un-damaged by the vertically rotating ropes. Slight leaf damages of less than 8% were observed at the fastest rotor speed of 320?rpm, which also gave the best thinning results. The portion of class one fruits >?70?mm was increased by 10% without yield loss and by up to 20% with yield losses of ca. 5–10%, depending on the settings, relative to the untreated control. This was equivalent to fruit mass gains of 10?g without yield loss and of 20?g with 10%–20% yield loss with economic gain in both cases. The single or double-sided mechanical thinning required 1.2?h ha^?1 or 2.4?h ha^?1 at a tractor speed of 2.5?km h^?1 and reduced the subsequent hand thinning by respectively 20% or 45% (by 7?h or by 15?h/ha or its cost by 50–135 €/ha). The new device gently removed up to one third of both peripheral and central flowers at a cost of less than 100 €/ha and with a negligible risk of over-thinning and without effect on return bloom.     

Einfluss selektiver mechanischer Fruchtbehangsregulierung auf Ethylensynthese als Stressindikator sowie Ertrag und Fruchtqualität bei Kernobst

The overall objective of this work was to improve fruit quality, break alternate bearing and reduce hand thinning using fewer chemicals in fruit crops. A device was constructed for mechanical thinning, which consisted of three independent horizontal rotors with ropes and freely adjustable angles on a frame, mounted on a front three point hitch and powered by the tractor hydraulics. This can be adapted to any fruit tree trained as spindle, Solaxe, (tall) vertical axis or fruit wall (le mur fruitier) irrespective of rootstock employed. Rotor speed varied from 300 to 460?rpm at either 5 or 7.5?km/h tractor speed. Eight-year-old or twelve-old apple trees cvs. ‘Gala’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ were mechanically thinned in 2007 between pink bud and full bloom (flower bud stages 6–8 or F1–F2) near Bonn, Germany; non-thinned and hand-thinned apple trees of the same block and variety served as control. Mechanically thinned flowering branches showed a similar amount of ethylene efflux (0.4–0.6?ppm C₂H₄/branch) as non-thinned flower branches, preventing potentially unexpected subsequent fruit drop, except for those removed by the rotors. The impact of the horizontal rotors on the branches was from the upper side and removed excessive flowers right to the tree trunk viz. the centre of the tree canopy, where fruits of lesser quality are expected leaving 2–3 flowers per cluster. Leaf damage was less than??10%, even at the fast rotor speed of 420?rpm, which was associated with negligible wood injury. Mechanical thinning induced firmer and sweeter fruit, i.e. tastier apples with longer shelf life, relative to control fruit from non-thinned apple trees. The greatest efficacy in terms of final fruit quality in the grading/sorting was achieved by a rotor speed of 360?rpm at a tractor speed of 5?km/h: Fruit mass increased by up to 20?g and the proportion of fruit larger than 70–75?mm by 10–30% compared with the fruit from non-thinned trees. Mechanical thinning with this newly constructed device led to a 10–20% reduction in yield, but increased returns due to better fruit size and colouration in apple with the potential to overcome alternate bearing.     

Einfluss von Biostimulanzien und Lichtreflexionsfolie auf die Fruchtqualität und Farbentwicklung bei Apfel

The aim of this research was to improve inner and external fruit quality and fruit colouration using four-year-old apple ‘Braeburn, Hillwell’ trees on M9 (3?m × 1?m spacing) by employing reflective ground covers and biostimulants at Klein-Altendorf, nr. Bonn, Germany (50°N). Two reflective ground covers were spread on both sides of tree rows seven weeks before anticipated harvest and two biostimulants were applied two times – four and two weeks before harvest. Adjacent trees of the same row without reflective ground cover or without biostimulants served as control.Reflective ground covers significantly improved red colouration from 71°hue in the control to 49°hue with the ground cover Lumilys® and to 40°hue with Extenday®. The red colouration of the lower surface of fruits improved from 85°hue in the control to 52°hue with Lumilys® and 40°hue by Extenday®. Apple trees with Extenday® and Lumilys® produced 69% and 44% well-coloured fruit (with 75–100% fruit colouration) compared with 16–26% in the control.By contrast, an acceleration of ripening processes was not observed in plots with reflective ground covers compared with the control. There were no differences in sugar contents (°Brix) and fruit firmness (kg/cm²), but starch breakdown in fruit with reflective mulch was significantly delayed compared with the control resulting in retarded maturation.An economic analysis based on material costs and lifespan – excluding the labour costs for spreading and removing the ground covers – showed an economic advantage, if these mulches are used more than once a year.Both biostimulants showed neither effects on inner and external fruit quality nor on fruit colouration. Fruits with Wuxal®ATRiun or Sunred® did not improve the percentage of well-coloured fruits (75%–100% fruit surface with red colouration) compared with the untreated control. Similarly, inner and external fruit quality showed no significant differences in fruit firmness, sugar content and starch degradation. An economic analysis based on chemicals’ costs – excluding the labour costs for applying the biostimulants – resulted in no economic advantage. The chlorophyll – based ‘Index of Absorption Difference’ (IAD; measured non-destructively by the DA-meter) in some cases correlated positively with the Streif (maturation) index based on destructive assessment fruit firmness, sugar content and starch breakdown in an ‘ART system’.     

Morphological,Biochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Local Loquat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eriobotrya Japonica</Emphasis> (Thunb.) Lindl.) Germplasm from Turkey

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica L.) grown well for commercial purposes in subtropical regions nearly 30 countries and originated from China. The most important loquat producers in the world are China, Spain, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Italy and Brazil. In this study, ten pre-selected promising loquat genotypes sampled from eastern Black region and analyzed for their important morphological, biochemical and antioxidant characteristics. The standard cultivar ‘Sayda’ is also included in the study. The results indicated differences for all of the morphological, biochemical and antioxidant characteristics among tested genotypes. Fruit mass and fruit flesh percentage of the genotypes ranged from 35.40?g (LOQ-8) to 46.90?g (LOQ-5) and from 79.40 (%) to 86.32 (%) indicating some local genotypes had higher fruit mass and fruit flesh percentage than standard cultivar ‘Sayda’. Total phenolic content was the highest as 263?μg GAE/g in LOQ-7 genotype while the lowest in LOQ-8 genotype (185?μg GAE/g). LOQ-7 genotype had the highest total antioxidant capacity. Local genotypes in general have higher total phenolic, total carotenoid, vitamin C and antioxidant activity than cv. ‘Sayda’.     

Mechanische Fruchtbehangsregulierung verringerte den Junifruchtfall und verbesserte die Fruchtqualität und Fruchtgröße bei ‚Conference‘- und ‚Alexander Lucas‘-Birnen

In the absence of any chemicals approved for thinning pears but market demand for large particularly cv. ‘Conference’ fruit, the objective of the present study as part of a MSC thesis was to improve fruit quality i.e. achieve these fruit sizes by mechanical blossom thinning. Therefore, 18-year-old cv. ‘Conference’ pear trees, trained as super spindles, on quince A rootstock with a spacing of 4?×?0.4 m were used in Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany; cv. ‘A. Lucas’ and un-thinned trees served as control. These pear trees with intense flowering were blossom-thinned on 15 April 2009 with rotor speeds of either 300 rpm or 400 rpm both at 5 km/h tractor speed with the new mechanical thinning device developed at the University of Bonn in 2004–2006. Therein, a vertical mast supports three horizontal rotors, whose vertically rotating tines remove excessive flowers; the device is mounted on the front three point hitch of the tractor. In 2009, a year with severe June drop, mechanical thinning reduced the intensity of the natural June drop with increasing rotor speed and was stronger reduced in cv. ‘A. Lucas’ (by ?38%) than in cv. ‘Conference’ (by ?27% relative to the control). In cv. ‘A. Lucas’, the natural June drop was as strong as mechanical thinning and resulted in large-sized 80 mm pear fruit in the control; mechanical thinning with 400 rpm further increased fruit mass by 16 g relative to the un-thinned control or 6 g larger than in the thinning with 300 rpm. In cv. ‘Conference’, fruit fell within the next larger fruit size class after the stronger mechanical thinning with 400 rpm at 5 km/h: the portion of pear fruit in the 75/80 mm size class was 2 fold and in the 80/85 mm size class was 6 fold that in the control. The portion of <?60, 60/65 mm and 65/70 mm fruit was halved relative to the control; the average fruit mass was increased by 40 g. Vegetative growth appeared unaffected by mechanical thinning. The risk of both over-sized fruit and over-thinning appears small, since mechanical thinning reduced the natural June drop and did not induce subsequent fruit drop. Mechanical thinning was more efficient in cv. ‘Conference’, as intended, despite more intense flowering in cv. ‘A Lucas’. An economic evaluation proved difficult, since the natural June drop particularly in cv. ‘A. Lucas’ led to large-sized fruit (80 mm) in the control, and any (mechanical) thinning is associated with lower yields (?26% in cv. ‘Conference’ and ?12% in cv. ‘A. Lucas’). Overall, the results indicate the potential of mechanical thinning as a substitute (or combination partner for chemical thinning if approved) in pear.     

Farb- und Fruchtqualitätsverbesserung bei Äpfeln mit Monophosphat und Extenday

Monophosphates reportedly enhance red colouration of bi-coloured apple fruit by stimulating anthocyanin synthesis and, in addition with calcium or potassium, may improve fruit firmness; colour and firmness which may be restricted by the climate in Western Europe. 12-year-old cv. ‘Elstar’ apple trees at Klein-Altendorf near Bonn, Germany, were sprayed weekly with either of two monophosphates four weeks prior to harvest to improve fruit quality, i.e. colouration, sugar and firmness. White, woven reflective cloth was spread as an alternative on the grass strips between the tree rows six weeks prior to harvest for the same purpose. Untreated apple trees served as control. Neither of the three treatments affected fruit maturation, measured as Streif index. The monophosphate formulation containing calcium (Seniphos; 24% P₂O₅; 4% CaO; 2?×?10?L/ha) increased the sugar content of the cv. ‘Elstar’ apples in the outer as well as in the inner tree canopy and the reflective cloth additionally in fruit of the lower canopy close to the cloth's position on the ground. This white reflective cloth (Extenday) also affected fruit from the outer tree canopy with the largest sugar content (12.6°Brix) and firmness (7.6?kg/cm²) at harvest. The monophosphate formulation containing potassium (Rizammina 42; 8% P₂O₅, 21% K₂O; 3?×? 2.5?kg/ha) improved the category of greater 25% fruit colouration by only 3%. Both Seniphos and the reflective cloth increased this portion by 17–19%, thereby raising the portion of class-1-fruit by 8%, equivalent to additional earnings of 1,060 €/ha. The green ground colour of apples in the shaded inner canopy was retained by either monophosphate. In the well-illuminated tree periphery, however, the ground colour of fruit treated with either monophosphate was less green (more yellow-green) and the top colour was more red. The white reflective cloth induced the same positive effects on fruit colouration to a much larger extent. Both monophosphates increased fruit firmness after 4?months cold storage around 5% at a time when fruit were too soft for marketing as fresh products.     

Verfrühung von Süßkirschen im Folienhaus

Early ripening sweet cherry cvs ‘Burlat’, ‘Earlise’, ‘Samba’, ‘Souvenir des Charmes’ and clone M, which are all characterised by large fruit size and dark red fruit, on GiSelA 5 rootstock were forced – by closing a polytunnel from 24 March to 20 April 2006 – at Klein-Altendorf research station of Bonn University. A portable gas heater was used for automated frost protection in April. An adjacent uncovered planting at the same spacing of 3.8?m?×?1.75?m served as control. Forcing resulted in a 16–18 days earlier flowering in April relative to the 12–16 days earlier harvest at the beginning of June, resulting in a 2–4 days longer fruit development and retarded ripening. PAR was reduced in the polytunnel by 40% on sunny and 30% on overcast days with a concurrent drop in the humidity to 30% on sunny and 40% on overcast days and nearly 100% relative humidity at night. Polytunnel air temperatures on sunny days were increased – during ventilation – by up to 6?°C relative to the outside, e.g. 33?°C versus 27?°C outside. Forced cherries saved one spray application against aphids compared to those outside. Fully-grown cherry leaves contained 40–60?mg chlorophyll/g FM sufficient for photosynthesis with commensurate chlorophyll contents when grown in the polytunnel compared with those outside, and were deficient in calcium (0.5% DM) and magnesium (0.2% DM), but with a surplus in both nitrogen (3.5% DM) and phosphorus (0.42% DM). The surplus leaf nitrogen was due to excessive nitrogen mineralization in the rich soil under the higher temperatures in the polytunnel which caused the vigorous vegetative growth despite the dwarfing rootstock. Great fluctuations in fertilisation – despite strong flowering and sufficient pollination with honey bees – of between 4–71% may be due to the combination of S-alleles of the cherry varieties, infrequent water supply, nutrient imbalance and microclimate. Trees of cv. ‘Burlat’, ‘Earlise’ and clone M in their fourth leaf yielded an average of 2.5–7.5?kg fruit with 15?kg/tree in one case. Fruit of forced cvs. ‘Burlat’, ‘Souvenir’ and ‘Samba’ were larger compared with those of cv. ‘Earlise’ and clone M, which were smaller as a result of increased fruit load on the tree than those from uncovered control trees. For all five cvs tested, except forced cv. ‘Earlise’, a fruit mass of between 10?g (28?mm ) and 12?g (30?mm) and a sugar content of 12–17% with sugar:acid ratios of 20–37:1 made their fruit suitable for marketing as superior or premium fruit at higher farm-gate prices of 4.5–8?€/kg. Fruits were sufficiently dark red or black and firm for short distance transport and rapid sale. An economic evaluation showed financial gains, when yields exceed 8?kg fruit per tree per year at a farm-gate price of 4.50?€/kg.     

土壤有机质对"红富士"苹果产量和品质的影响

测定了"红富士"苹果园0~40 cm土层的有机质含量,分析了相应果园苹果的产量和果实品质,为果园科学施肥提供依据。结果表明:土壤有机质含量在2%以上的果园苹果产量高、果实品质好,几乎不发生苦痘病;土壤有机质含量在2%以下的果园苹果产量低、果实品质差,苦痘病发生严重。