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Vitamin C profiles of 46 jujube cultivars were assessed from 2012 to 2015, and fruit nutrient dynamics of 10 cultivars during maturation were examined from 25 Aug. to 7 Oct. 2014 at 2-week intervals at New Mexico State University’s Alcalde Sustainable Agriculture Science Center and Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center. This is the first report in the United States profiling Vitamin C in jujube cultivars. The vitamin C content of mature fruit of 45 (of 46) cultivars ranged from 225 to 530 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW) plus ‘Youzao’ having the highest content of 820 mg/100 g FW at early mature stage. In general, drying cultivars had higher vitamin C content than fresh-eating cultivars whereas ‘Jinsi’ series (multipurpose) had relatively higher vitamin C content than others (>400 mg/100 g FW). Fruit vitamin C and moisture content decreased significantly during the maturation process. The average vitamin C contents of nine cultivars at Alcalde decreased more than 40% based on FW from 25 Aug. to 7 Oct. To maximize the vitamin C benefit, the ideal stage to consume fresh-eating cultivars is the creamy stage. Titratable acidity and soluble solids increased significantly during maturation. In mature jujubes, the titratable acidity and soluble solids ranged between 0.27% to 0.46% and 27.2% to 33.7%, respectively. Glucose, fructose, and sucrose content also rose significantly during ripening. Mature fruits contained 31–82 mg/g FW glucose, 32–101 mg/g FW fructose, and 53–159 mg/g FW sucrose among the cultivars tested. Based on sucrose contents, cultivars can be divided into two groups, “high-sucrose” (more sucrose than glucose or fructose) and “low-sucrose” (less sucrose than glucose or fructose). ‘Dagua’, ‘Honeyjar’, ‘Lang’, ‘Li’, ‘Maya’, ‘Sugarcane’, and ‘Sherwood’ belong to the “high-sucrose” group. Total phenolic content and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-reducing capacity in fruit decreased during maturation, and the total phenolic content of mature jujube was 12–16 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW). For mature fruit, ‘Li’ and ‘Li-2’ had the highest DPPH-scavenging efficiency whereas ‘Sugarcane’, ‘So’, and ‘Lang’ had the lowest at Alcalde, NM.
Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is also called Chinese date. There are ∼100 jujube cultivars with limited commercial availability, and the majority of them have scant details in the United States. In this study, nutrient dynamics during fruit maturation of different jujube cultivars grown at Las Cruces, Los Lunas, and Alcalde, NM, were examined in 2018 and 2019. Cultivars varied by location and year, and included ‘Li’, ‘Lang’, ‘Sugarcane’, ‘September Late’, and ‘Sherwood’. Parameters tested were total phenolic content (TPC), proanthocyanidins (PAs), vitamin C, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and antioxidant capacity: 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP). Moisture, TPC, PAs, FRAP, and vitamin C content decreased with fruit maturity; however, the latter stage of fruit maturity showed an increase in cAMP. Compared with fruit at full-red maturity, creamy fruit had TPC, PA, FRAP, and vitamin C concentrations that were 1.0 to 1.8, 4.4 to 12.4, 1.9 to 2.6, and 0.1 to 1.3 times higher, respectively, depending on location (P < 0.05). From creamy to full-red maturity, cAMP increased by 0.9 to 4.5 times. At full-red maturity, estimated TPC in jujube fruit ranged from 10.6 to 16.8 mg gallic acid equivalent per gram dry weight (DW), whereas estimated PAs ranged from 1.8 to 5.3 mg PA B2/g DW. Jujube fruit at full-red maturity had a vitamin C content that ranged from 649.0 to 1153.3 mg/100 g DW. At full-red maturity, the concentration of cAMP ranged from 148.1 to 277.6 μg/g DW in Las Cruces samples.
A decrease in available farmland worldwide has prompted interest in polyculture systems such as intercropping where two or more crops are grown simultaneously on the same land to increase the yield per farm area. In Alcalde, NM, a year-round intercropping system was designed to evaluate organically produced blackberry cultivars (Rubus, subgenus Rubus) and winter greens in a high tunnel over a 2-year period. Two floricane fruiting blackberry cultivars, Chester Thornless and Triple Crown, were grown intercropped with ‘Red Russian’ kale (Brassica napus) and ‘Bloomsdale’ spinach (Spinacia oleracea) in a high tunnel. In an adjacent field, the planting of blackberry was repeated with no winter intercrop and no high tunnel. Both cultivars of blackberry were harvested July to September, and fresh weights were measured to determine suitability to the intercropping system in the high tunnel. Both species of winter greens were harvested January to April, and fresh yield weights were measured to discern fitness as possible intercrops in this system. Row covers were used for kale and spinach, and air temperatures were monitored November to April inside the high tunnel. High tunnel temperatures were within acceptable ranges for the production of greens with the use of rowcovers. Yield data from this study indicates that ‘Triple Crown’ blackberry outperformed ‘Chester Thornless’ blackberry in both the high tunnel and field trials with significant difference in the second season. Additionally, blackberry yields from both cultivars were observed to be higher in the field than in the high tunnel for both years. High temperature damage to high tunnel berry canes was noticed for both cultivars, with observed yield decreases in the second year in the high tunnel. Overall, this study indicates that the phenology and climate needs of the two winter greens and blackberry cultivars were not compatible for sustaining year-round organic high tunnel production.
The nutritional and medicinal significance of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) has led to persistent efforts in genomics to accelerate the utilization of its germplasm resources. However, the absence of accurate genetic identity of existing germplasm limits these studies. In the United States, different names were frequently given to the same jujube cultivars because the pedigrees of the imported germplasm are unclear. The present study selected a panel of 147 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers distributed across the jujube genome to examine genetic identity, genetic diversity, and population structure in 177 jujube cultivars sampled from different locations in the United States. SNP profile multilocus matching reported a total of 23 synonymous groups including 116 samples that were identical to at least one other sample. This led to the detection of 74 unique genotypes for subsequent diversity analysis. Model-based genetic structure analysis divided the distinctive genotypes into three major groups, with some admixtures among the groups. The genetic differentiation among these groups was further validated by analysis of molecular variance (Fst = 0.199, P value < 0.001), principal coordinate analysis, and clustering analysis. Morphological traits were studied in some of the genetically identical commercial cultivar groups, (i.e., Li, Lang, and Jinsi). Results demonstrated significant morphological differences within genetically identical cultivars in the Jinsi group, indicating phenotypic variation resulting from mutations in these clones.
Mammoth™ ‘Twilight Pink Daisy’ (U.S. Plant Patent 14,455; Canadian Plant Breeders’ Rights Certificate No. 4192) is an interspecific garden chrysanthemum cultivar, Chrysanthemum ×hybridum Anderson (= Dendranthema ×hybrida Anderson) with common names of hardy mum, chrysanthemum, and garden mum. It is a new and distinct form of shrub-type garden mums in the Mammoth™ series with rosy-pink ray florets, a dark “eye” color in the center of the disc florets, frost-tolerant flower petals, and self-pinching growth. This cultivar is a butterfly attractant in the garden. Mammoth™ ‘Twilight Pink Daisy’ is a winter-hardy herbaceous perennial in USDA Z3b–Z9 (Southeast)/Zone 10 (West) with its cushion growth form displaying extreme hybrid vigor, increasing in plant height from 0.46 m in its first year to a shrub of 0.76 to 1.22 m in the second year and thereafter with greater than 3000 leaves/plant. Flowering is prolific, covering the entire plant at full flowering with as many as greater than 3500 flowers in the second year. Chemical abbreviations: ethanol (EtOH), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA).