Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 9 of 9 items for :
- Author or Editor: K.A. Harrison x
- HortScience x
Abstract
A disorder of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) in an area exposed to high temperature and solar radiation has been identified as a form of solar injury. Specific fruit maturity stages were defined and susceptibility to injury was found to rapidly increase as fruit matured from the “green” to the “white” to the “pink” stage. Appreciable injury (more than two unpigmented drupelets per fruit) only occurred at 42C and higher with 4 or more hours of UV radiation at the fluence level used. While the injury at 42C was proportional to UV exposure, the radiation environment in the laboratory was not designed to simulate solar radiation. Therefore, no quantitative function relating injury to fruit temperature and UV radiation is presented. The results indicated that attenuating UV absorption alone, without lowering temperature, is likely to protect raspberries in the field.
In a 2-year study, `McIntosh' apples were stored in a CA regime of 4.5% CO2 + 2.5% O2. Within the CA cabinets there were three humidity levels: >75% RH (CaCl2 salt in the chamber), >90% RH (ambient), or >95% RH (distilled water in the chamber). After removal at 4 and 8 months, the fruit were warmed to handling temperatures of 0C, 10C, or 20C and subjected to three levels of impact bruising of 0, 10, or 20 lb with a Ballauf pressure tester with a 1.5 × 1.5-cm tip. The results showed that low-humidity CA storage decreased visible bruising. Although visible shrivel was not observed, the low-humidity treatment may increase the possibility of its occurrence. Respiration, measured as O2 consumption or CO2 production immediately after removal from CA storage, was lowest in low humidity (>75% RH) and highest in ambient humidity (>90% RH) CA storage. The humidity treatments did not affect firmness, soluble solids, titratable acids, or ethylene production. Increasing the temperature during post-storage handling decreased the amount of visible bruising without affecting other variates such as firmness, soluble solids, titratable acids, respiration, or ethylene production.
`Redcort Cortland' and `Redmax' and `Summerland McIntosh' apples (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) were treated with 900 nL·L-1 of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) for 24 hours at 20 °C before storage and were kept at 3 °C in either a controlled atmosphere (CA) of 2 kPa O2 and <2.5 kPa CO2 or in an air (RA) environment for up to 9 months. After 4.5 months, half of the fruit were treated with a second 900 nL·L-1 1-MCP application in air at 3 °C for 24 hours and then returned to RA or CA storage. At harvest and following removal at 3, 6, and 9 months and a 7-day shelf life at 20 °C, fruit firmness, titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids content (SSC) were measured, while internal ethylene concentrations (IEC) in the apple core were quantified after 1 day at 20 °C. Upon storage removal and following a 21-day shelf life at 20 °C, disorder incidence was evaluated. 1-MCP-treated apples, particularly those held in CA-storage, were more firm and had lower IEC than untreated fruit. Higher TA levels were maintained with 1-MCP in all three strains from both storages, while SSC was not affected. Following the 6- and/or 9-month removals, 1-MCP suppressed superficial scald development in all strains and reduced core browning and senescent breakdown in RA-stored `Redmax' and `Summerland' and senescent breakdown in RA-stored `Redcort'. 1-MCP generally maintained the quality of `Cortland' and `McIntosh' fruit held in CA and RA environments (particularly the former) to a higher degree than untreated apples over the 9-month storage period. A second midstorage application of 1-MCP at 3 °C did not improve poststorage fruit quality above a single, prestorage treatment.
To determine if postharvest treatments of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) retard the senescence of highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) removed from storage, `Burlington' (early) and `Coville' (late) fruit were harvested from four experimental sites and treated for 24 hours at 20 °C with 0 (control), 25 (low), 100 (medium), or 400 (high) nL·L-1 of 1-MCP. All fruit were then stored in a controlled atmosphere of 10-15 kPa O2 and 10 kPa CO2 at -1 to 1 °C for 4, 8, and 12 weeks, followed by a 20 °C shelf-life of up to 20 days. During the shelf-life period immediately after harvest and those following each storage removal, percent marketable fruit (PMF) were calculated daily as: [fruit in good condition]/[total berry number] × 100. Changes in PMF were not affected by 1-MCP treatment; hence, we conclude that 1-MCP at rates up to 400 nL·L-1 does not alter the shelf-life quality of the highbush blueberry cultivars tested.
Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] periderm components were tested for their effect on four fungi that infect sweetpotato roots: Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. f. sp. batatas (Wollenw.) Snyd. & Hans. and F. solani (Sacc.) Mart., both of which cause stem and root disease; and Lasiodiplodea theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl. and Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehr. ex Fr.) Lind., both of which cause storage root disease. Sequential extracts of `Regal' sweetpotato periderm with hexane, methanol, and 50% methanol were inhibitory to the four fungi when incorporated into potato dextrose agar medium in petri dish bioassays. The methanol and 50% methanol extracts were much more active than the hexane extract and were combined for further study. Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography of the combined extracts, followed by bioassay with F. oxysporum indicated that the most inhibitory fraction contained the least polar components of the extract. Resin glycosides isolated from `Regal' periderm inhibited F. oxysporum, but the glycosides exhibited little concentration effect and were not as active on a tissue weight basis as other components. Periderm extracts from 10 sweetpotato clones exhibited large differences in inhibitory activity in bioassays with the four fungi. The sensitivity of the fungi to inhibition by the periderm extracts suggests that periderm components may provide protection against soil pathogens, but a relationship between such components and disease resistance was not established.
A final harvest window (FHW), expressed as Streif Index coefficients [firmness/(percentage soluble solids concentration × starch index)], was developed for identifying maximum fruit quality for strains of `McIntosh', `Cortland', and `Jonagold' apples (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) following 8 months of controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage. The Streif Index was calculated during nine preharvest (twice per week) intervals and four weekly harvests over three seasons. The relationship between Streif Index (dependent variable) and day of year (independent variable) of the preharvest and harvest samples was then derived by negative first-order linear regression equations that had parameter estimate (b1) probability values ≤0.0001 for all of the strains. Apples from the four harvest periods were stored in standard CA storage for 8 months and then subjected to a 7-day shelf-life test at 0 °C followed by 5 days at 20 °C. Poststorage quality data were categorized and combined to produce an overall fruit quality rating scale. For each strain, the final harvest (i.e., day of year) was identified as that which directly preceded at least a 10% drop in the poststorage fruit quality rating compared with the first harvest rating. The FHW, expressed as Streif Index coefficients via the regression of Streif Index (Y) on day of year (X), was then calculated as the 3-year final harvest mean with the upper and lower window limits being determined by the standard deviation of the mean. The lower to upper FHW boundaries ranged from 4.18 to 5.34, 4.12 to 5.46, 4.51 to 5.68, 5.23 to 5.99, and 1.38 to 2.34 for Redmax, Marshall and Summerland `McIntosh', Redcort `Cortland' and Wilmuta `Jonagold', respectively. The practical utility of the Streif Index method lies in the ease with which apple fruit maturity at harvest can be evaluated for its suitability for long-term CA storage.
Potential maturity indices were determined for two melting-flesh (FL 90-20 and Tropic Beauty) and two nonmelting-flesh (Oro A and Fl 86-28 C) peach cultivars. A range of developmental stages was obtained by conducting two harvests and separating fruit based on their diameter. Fruit in each category were divided into two groups. One group was used for determining potential maturity indices: soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble solids: titratable acidity, peel and flesh color on the cheeks (CH) and blossom end (BE), CH and BE texture, ethylene production, and respiration rate. The other group was stored at 0°C for 1 week and ripened at 20°C for 2 days to simulate actual handling conditions, and were presented to a trained sensory panel, which rated the fruit for three textural (hardness, rubberiness, and juiciness) and three flavor aspects (sweetness; sourness; bitterness; and green, peachy, and overripe character). Principal component (PC) analysis was used to consolidate the results of the descriptive sensory evaluation into a single variable that could be correlated with the objective measurements at harvest. The first overall PC explained 40% of the total variation. Following are the attributes that best correlated with PC 1 and, thus, are promising maturity indices: for FL 90-20, peel hue, peel L, and CH texture; for Tropic Beauty, peel L, CH texture, and BE texture; for Oro A, CH texture, BE texture, and CH chroma; for 86-28C, BE texture, CH hue, and CH texture.
Five years of testing found equal damage on peaches from trees sprayed with an air-blast sprayer or with a PASS. A PASS is a modified boom sprayer mounted on the lower truss of a center-pivot. A PASS and an air-blast sprayer apply the same chemical formulations at the same rates per ha. Because a PASS injects no chemicals into the center-pivot, it is not chemigation. Unlike an air-blast sprayer that sprays out and up, a PASS sprays down, which should result in less spray drift. Because a PASS sprays over the tops of the trees, it places no restriction on row or tree spacing. Also, a PASS eliminates the pesticide exposure of a tractor driver spraying with an air-blast sprayer. Comparing capital costs of a PASS and an air-blast sprayer showed projected savings for the PASS of from $128/ha to over $248/ha as the orchard size increased from 7 ha to 29 ha. A PASS is much simpler than an air-blast sprayer which is pulled by a tractor, so the operating and maintenance costs for a PASS should be lower.
Nitrogen at rates of 112 or 224 kg·ha-1 was applied to nonirrigated and drip irrigated mature pecan trees for 9 years. Some irrigated trees received 224 kg·ha-1 N either all broadcast or ½ through the drip irrigation. Other drip irrigated trees received only 112 kg·ha-1 all through the drip irrigation system. Fertigation was in 4 equal monthly doses beginning April 1. Irrigation increased yield for 2 years for Schley and 3 years for Stuart. Nut size was increased by irrigation in 6 years for Schley and 8 years for Stuart. Applying ½ N through the irrigation system caused no detrimental effect on yield or nut quality. The lower rate of N all applied through the drip irrigation system gave yield and nut quality as good as the higher rate either all broadcast or ½ broadcast and ½ fertigated.