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During storage, many apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) genotypes lose their desirable textural qualities, but some like `Honeycrisp', maintain their sensory Crispness and Firmness. To understand this differential response of genotypes to postharvest changes in texture, reliable and quantifiable methods of texture measurement are needed. This study integrated data from a snapping test, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and sensory panels to study postharvest textural changes and to predict sensory textural attributes of Firmness, Crispness, Mealiness, and Juiciness. Three separate analyses on fresh, stored, and combined fresh and stored fruit data yielded different predictors for the same sensory attributes. Change in Crispness during storage was successfully predicted by change in Work during storage. Cell number and size were related to fresh fruit texture and its maintenance during storage. Unique textural properties of `Honeycrisp' were found to be inherited by its progeny.
Aquaponics, the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture into one growing system, is a controlled environment production system that potentially has increased environmental and consumer benefits over traditional production methods. There are many different ways to configure aquaponics systems that include different fish species, water circulation, lighting, plant species/density, and more. We tested three cultivars of lettuce, a common aquaponically produced crop, for yield in multiple aquaponic systems and conditions over a 13-month period in Minnesota. Four different aquaponic configurations and four types of fish were tested over the course of the experiment. There was no addition of supplemental nutrients to the systems to evaluate the differences between treatments and set a baseline. There was no difference in yield between lettuce produced aquaponically and those grown in soilless medium. However, there was a difference in yield between lettuce grown with different fish treatments. The tilapia treatment produced higher average yield than yellow perch. There was a difference between cultivars, with higher average yield from loose-leaf bunch cultivars (Salanova, Skyphos) than the bibb type (Rex). Average yield for all but one treatment was above that of reported commercial field production, making lettuce a competitive aquaponic crop in most systems.
Many studies of apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) softening have been done using cultivars that eventually become mealy. We wanted to determine whether observations in these studies would be seen in a cultivar that maintains its crispness. In this paper, we compared the texture, ultrastructure, and some physiological parameters of Honeycrisp, an apple cultivar introduced in 1991 by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, with its parents and Delicious. Sensory evaluations and instrumental texture measurements showed that `Honeycrisp' maintained a crisp texture from harvest through 6 months of cold storage, whereas its parents, `Macoun' and `Honeygold', softened over the same time period. Turgor potential, cell wall composition, and ultrastructural comparisons of the fruit were made. Cell turgor potentials of `Honeycrisp' and `Delicious' were similar and greater than those of `Macoun' and `Honeygold', and clearly correlated with firmness. There were no differences in cell wall neutral sugar composition, except for arabinose, which was not highly correlated with crispness. `Honeycrisp' fruit maintained cell wall integrity after 6 months of storage, while cell walls of `Macoun' and `Honeygold' deteriorated. These data show that it is important to compare more than one cultivar when studying crispness. Honeycrisp is a cultivar that maintains its crispness through long storage without controlled atmosphere conditions. After 6 months of storage, this crispness can be attributed to a maintenance of high turgor potential and cell wall integrity.
Shading has been used to produce high-quality lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in locations where production conditions are not optimal for this cool-season crop. To learn what additional benefits shading provides if heat-tolerant cultivars are used and to understand the effects of shading on growth, sensory quality, chemical content, and transcriptome profile on heat-tolerant lettuce, we grew two romaine lettuce cultivars with and without shading using 50% black shadecloth in 2018 and 2019. Shading reduced plant leaf temperatures, lettuce head fresh weights, glucose and total sugars content, and sweetness, but not bitterness, whereas it increased lettuce chlorophyll b content compared with unshaded controls. Transcriptome analyses identified genes predominantly involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism as upregulated in unshaded controls compared with shaded treatments. For the tested cultivars, which were bred to withstand high growing temperatures, it may be preferable to grow them under unshaded conditions to avoid increased infrastructure costs and obtain lettuce deemed sweeter than if shaded.
The present study systematically investigated the effects of warehouse and greenhouse aquaponic growing conditions on consumer acceptability of different basil cultivars. A total of 105 consumers rated their liking of three basil cultivars (Nufar, Genovese, and Eleonora), each grown in three conditions (aquaponically in a greenhouse, aquaponically in a warehouse, both with Cyprinus carpio, Koi fish, and grown in soilless medium). We used linear random effect models to investigate consumer preferences for attributes of basil plants grown in different environments by controlling for individual-specific random effects. Participants generally liked the soilless medium–grown and greenhouse aquaponically grown basil plants more than the warehouse aquaponically grown plants. The soilless medium–grown basil had the highest appearance liking and flavor intensity, followed by the greenhouse aquaponic grown and then by the warehouse aquaponic grown. Aquaponically grown cultivars were rated less bitter than soilless medium–grown cultivars.