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- Author or Editor: Robert E. Paull x
There is a need to develop effective, non-damaging, non-polluting, non-carcinogenic procedures for insect disinfestation and disease control in fresh horticultural products. The loss of ethylene dibromide as a fumigant and the uncertainties of other fumigants, has meant that alternatives are needed. The most likely possibilities include irradiation, heat, cold and controlled atmospheres. Irradiation doses required for sterilization of insects cause only minor physiological changes, while controlled atmospheres appear to require longer periods of exposure than the postharvest life of most tropical fruit. The sensitivity of tropical commodities to temperatures less than 10°C makes cold treatments inappropriate for most tropical commodities. Heat treatments seem to be most promising. For papaya, the requirement is that the fruit core temperature reach 47.2°C, this can occasionally disrupt fruit ripening. The sensitivity to heat is modified by seasonal, variety and rate of heating factors. The sensitivity can be related to the heat shock response and the presence of heat shock proteins.
Abstract
The optimum storage temperature for flowers of the ‘Kaumana’, ‘Nitta’, and ‘Ozaki’ cultivars of anthurium (Anthurium andraeanum Andre) was between 14° and 17°C. A AgNO3 pulse (4 mm, 40 min) given immediately after harvest increased postharvest life of stored flowers but had no effect on flowers that were placed immediately in the vase. Maximum postharvest life was achieved with Ag+ treated flowers packed for 3 days. It was possible to store packed, untreated flowers for 9 days and still have 2 weeks of postharvest life before spadix browning, spathe blueing, or loss of spathe gloss became objectionable.
Abstract
Total soluble solids, ethanol insoluble fraction, pH, titratable acidity, total phenols, total ethanol-soluble sugars, ascorbic acid, respiration, and ethylene production were determined sequentially in individual soursop fruits from the day of harvest until the start of fruit breakdown. Total soluble solids increased from about 10° Brix to near 16° Brix during 3 days of ripening. Fruit pulp pH declined from 5.8 to 3.6 with a concomitant increase in titratable acidity over the same ripening period. Penetration force was high, generally greater than 7.5 kg, in the preclimacteric stage and then declined to less than 0.5 kg during ripening. Total phenols declined during ripening to one-third of the preclimacteric levels, while total ethanol-soluble sugars and ascorbic acid increased twofold and elevenfold, respectively. The maximum respiration rate was 108 ml/kg·hr. Ethylene production increased 24–48 hr after the fruit climacteric was initiated. The optimum eating stage occurred at day 5 to 6 from harvest at the peak of ethylene production. At a later stage, the fruit was more bland with a slight off-odor; this correlated with a decline in the titratable acidity and total phenols.
Abstract
Rating scales and their descriptions are described for spadix condition, spathe discoloration, and gloss for anthurium inflorescence.
This study examined the relationship between the activity of fruit enzymes involved in metabolizing sucrose and sugar accumulation during fruit development, to clarify the role of these key enzymes in sugar accumulation in papaya fruit. Papaya fruit (Carica papaya L. cv. Sunset) were harvested from 14 to 140 days after anthesis (DAA). Fruit dry matter persent, total soluble solids (TSS), and sugar composition and the activity of enzymes: sucrose phosphate synthetase (SPS), sucrose synthetase (SS), and acid invertase were measured. `Sunset' papaya matured 140 days after anthesis during the Hawaii summer season and in about 180 days in cool season on the same plant. Fruit flesh dry matter persent, TSS, and total sugar did not significantly increase until 30 days before harvest. Sucrose synthetase was very high 2 weeks post-anthesis, then decreased to less than one-third in 42 to 56 DAA, then remained relatively low during the rest of fruit development. Seven to 14 days before fruit maturation, SS increased about 30% at the same time as sucrose accumulation in the fruit. Acid invertase activity was very low in the young fruit and increased more than 10-fold 42 to 14 days before maturation. SPS activity remained very low throughout the fruit development and was about 40% higher in mature-green fruit. The potential roles of invertase and sucrose synthetase in sugar accumulation will be discussed.
Over ripe and abnormally soft fruits occur often during papaya shipments to the mainland U.S.A. Calcium fertilization to the soil did not always increased Ca concentration in the mesocarp. Calcium plus K treatment was more effective at increasing the Ca concentration in the mesocarp than Ca treatment alone. Calcium and K fertilization did not affect the fruit color development. There was a positive correlation between mesocarp Ca concentration and ripe fruit firmness, with no relationship between K or Mg concentration and ripe fruit firmness. Vacuum infiltration with CaCl2, MgCl2, KCl to mesocarp plugs in vitro showed that Ca significantly delayed softening and reduced C2H4 production, and that MgCl2 and KCl also slowed the softening. Use of the chelating agent sodium citrate increased the rate of softening, probably, by removing Ca from the cell wall. We conclude that Ca is an important factor in fruit firmness and that the increase of Mg and K by infiltration has different effects on fruit firmness from that by soil fertilization.
The Anthurium andraeanum `Kaumana' flower growth and development before and after emergence was studied. The process before emergence was long and slow. A tiny flower bud, about 0.3 cm long was formed 80 days before its emergence. The whole period before emergence was divided into three phases: cell division phase, slow growth phase and elongation phase. The characteristic of each phase was studied.
The leaf which bears the flower bud at its petiole base is called subtending leaf. Its growth had a significant influence on the flower bud growth at its petiole base. Detaching the young subtending leaf blade resulted in an earlier flower emergence.
The growth and development of Anthurium andraeanum Andre cv. Kaumana flower before and after emergence from the subtending leaf base was studied. Eighty days before emergence, the anthurium flower was =0.3 cm long, enclosed by two tightly rolled stipules at the base of the subtending leaf petiole. During the rapid elongation stage of the leaf petiole, the flower (0.8 to 1.0 cm long) entered a period of slow growth 40 to 60 days before flower emergence. After the subtending leaf blade unfurled and had a positive photosynthetic rate, flower growth resumed. Spathe color development started =28 days before emergence when the flower was =50% of the emergence flower length (4.5 cm). At flower emergence, the spathe, excluding the lobes, was =75% red. The lobes did not develop full redness until 7 to 10 days after emergence. Peduncle growth was sigmoidal with the maximum growth rate 21 days after emergence. Spathe growth is characterized by a double sigmoid curve. The young, growing, subtending leaf blade had a negative net photosynthetic rate. Removal of this leaf blade advanced flower emergence by 18 days. The soft green leaf (25 to 30 days after leaf emergence) had a slightly positive measured net photosynthetic rate, and the removal of this leaf resulted in flower emergence 11 days earlier. A mature subtending leaf had the highest measured net photosynthetic rate, and its removal had little effect on flower emergence. The subtending leaf acted as a source of nutrients required for the developing flower. Altering the source-sink relationship by leaf removal accelerated flower emergence, probably by reducing the slow growth phase of the flower.
The inflorescence of Protea neriifolia B. Br. was two-thirds of the total cut floral stem fresh weight and significantly influenced blackening of the attached 20 to 30 leaves. Floral stems harvested at five developmental stages were characterized for inflorescence diameter, fresh and dry weights, respiration, and nectar production. Inflorescence diameter and fresh and dry weights increased from stage 1 (very tight bud) to stage 5 (bracts reflexed). Respiration rate was high in stages 1 and 3. Nectar production began at stage 4 (open, cylindrical flower) and increased from 2.7 to 9.8 ml per flower with 15% to 23.5% total soluble solids as the flower opened. Postharvest inflorescence diameter, respiration rate, and nectar production increased and leaf blackening decreased when floral stems were placed in 5% (w/v) sucrose solution. Application of 14C-sucrose to a leaf subtending the inflorescence lead to >50% of the radioactivity being found in the nectar within 24 hours. These data indicate that leaf blackening in protea is the result of depletion of carbohydrate by the inflorescence, and that this depletion is primarily due to the sugar demand for nectar production.