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Thirty-three tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) or L. pimpinellifolium (L.) Mill. accessions were inoculated with race T2 of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) in a field experiment at Wooster, Ohio, in Summer 1995. These included accessions selected for race T2 resistance in greenhouse tests in Florida, and accessions from Hawaii, Brazil, and Bulgaria. One L. esculentum (PI 114490-1-1) and three L. pimpinellifolium (PI 340905-S1, PI 128216-T2, and LA 442-1-BK) accessions had no Xcv symptoms. This is the first report of resistance to Xcv race T2. Partial resistance was found in PI 271385, PI 79532-S1, PI 155372-S1, PI 195002, and PI 126428. Most of the 33 genotypes were tested for race T1 resistance in Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil in summer 1993. Hawaii 7983, PI 155372-S1, PI 114490, PI 114490-S1, and PI 262173 had greater resistance to T1 than the susceptible control `Solar Set'. Comparisons with earlier experiments in which accessions were inoculated with race T1 or T3 indicated that the most consistent source of resistance to all three races was PI 114490 or selections from it.

The major components of flavor in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and other fruit are thought to be sugars, acids, and flavor volatiles. Tomato overall acceptability, tomato-like flavor, sweetness, and sourness for six to nine tomato cultivars were analyzed by experienced panels using a nine-point scale and by trained descriptive analysis panels using a 15-cm line scale for sweetness, sourness, three to five aroma and three to seven taste descriptors in three seasons. Relationships between sensory data and instrumental analyses, including flavor volatiles, soluble solids (SS), individual sugars converted to sucrose equivalents (SE), titratable acidity (TA), pH, SS/TA, and SE/TA, were established using correlation and multiple linear regression. For instrumental data, SS/TA, SE/TA, TA, and cis-3-hexenol correlated with overall acceptability (P = 0.05); SE, SE/TA (P≤0.03), geranylacetone, 2+3-methylbutanol and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (P = 0.11) with tomato-like flavor; SE, pH, cis-3-hexenal, trans-2-hexenal, hexanal, cis-3-hexenol, geranylacetone, 2+3-methylbutanol, trans-2 heptenal, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and 1-nitro-2-phenylethane (P≤0.11) with sweetness; and SS, pH, acetaldehyde, aceton, 2-isobutylthiazole, geranlyacetone, β-ionone, ethanol, hexanal and cis-3-hexenal with sourness (P≤0.15) for experienced or trained panel data. Measurements for SS/TA correlated with overall taste (P=0.09) and SS with astringency, bitter aftertaste, and saltiness (P≤0.07) for trained panel data. In addition to the above mentioned flavor volatiles, methanol and 1-penten-3-one significantly affected sensory responses (P = 0.13) for certain aroma descriptors. Levels of aroma compounds affected perception of sweetness and sourness and measurements of SS showed a closer relationship to sourness, astringency, and bitterness than to sweetness.

Black cohosh [Actaea racemosa L.; Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.] is a perennial herb native to North America that is commonly used for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. The plant is almost exclusively harvested from the wild and is being threatened by overharvesting in some regions. As demand for this plant continues to increase, the potential for profitable cultivation of this species is becoming realistic. Little is known about the effect of various cultivation practices, soils, environments, and harvest times on the multitude of phytochemicals that occur in black cohosh. Furthermore, although the rhizome is the organ that is traditionally consumed, other tissues also contain various quantities of important phytochemicals, but this has not been well documented. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to ascertain any environmental effects on the production of two representative phytochemicals (23-epi-26-deoxyactein and cimiracemoside A) and to elucidate any season-long patterns or variations in the production of these compounds within five black cohosh tissues (leaf, rachis, rhizome, root, and inflorescence). All black cohosh tissues contained 23-epi-26-deoxyactein with substantially more, as a percentage of dry weight, detected in inflorescence (28,582 to 41,354 mg·kg⁻¹) and leaf (8250 to 16,799 mg·kg⁻¹) compared with rhizome (2688 to 4094 mg·kg⁻¹), and all tissues experienced a linear season-long decrease in occurrence of this compound. Cimiracemoside A was not detected in leaf tissues. The highest levels were found in rhizome (677 to 1138 mg·kg⁻¹) and root (598 to 1281 mg·kg⁻¹), which likewise experienced a significant season-long decrease in this compound, whereas levels in the rachis (0 to 462 mg·kg⁻¹) increased over time. In general, environmental factors did not affect production of either compound. Varying seasonal patterns in phytochemical production, combined with differences in phytochemical content among plant tissues, point to the potential for more targeted horticultural production of these and other medicinal compounds within black cohosh.