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Watermelons were dipped in either 1000 ppm sodium hypochlorite solution or in deionized water, dried, then cut into chunks of ≈83 × 152 × 51 mm. These were sealed into plastic containers and stored at either 2, 4, or 8 °C. Samples were removed after 3, 7, and 10 days for microbial and quality tests. Chlorine dip reduced average aerobic plate counts by ≈3 log cycles and average coliform counts by nearly 2 log cycles. This may have significant implications for food safety and off-flavor development. The difference in microbial counts persisted for ≈7 days. No clear effect from storage temperature was seen. A trend for lower temperatures to preserve red hue was observed in objective color tests. Texture tests revealed a trend for all melons to become firmer during storage. No clear patterns with respect to storage temperature or sanitizing dip were seen.
Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars with pods representing a range of greenness were grown in Oklahoma field trials in 2001 and 2004. Objective color evaluations (L* value and hue angle) performed on raw and cooked pod samples from 10 (2001) or 12 (2004) of these cultivars indicated that color testing of raw snap bean pods may not be sufficient to determine the color after cooking. Although L* values may be expected to decrease after cooking, the magnitude of the changes may not be predictable. Changes in hue angle values after cooking appear to be even more variable among cultivars. Therefore, if the color of the cooked beans is expected to be a deciding factor in cultivar selection, we would recommend conducting color tests on cooked bean pods as well as the raw product. Twenty relatively straight, unblemished pods per cultivar were harvested on 20 June 2001 and on 30 June 2004 from plants of ‘Blue Lake 274’, ‘Brio’, ‘Charon’, ‘Jade’, and ‘Seville’. The five most uniform pods per cultivar (all sieve Size 4) were presented as raw samples that same day to an untrained panel consisting of seven males and 18 females (2001) or nine males and 18 females (2004). This was an affective test; panelists were asked to evaluate intensity of color and likeliness to buy using a 5-point semantic differential scale. Correlation coefficients for the two attributes were calculated. Sensory panelists were able to make subjective distinctions among the cultivars based on color. However, these differences did not necessarily correlate with either objective color measures or likelihood of purchase. Snap bean pod color is not an overriding selection criterion, but only one of many criteria considered by consumers.
Root yield and quality were evaluated in 15 carrot (Daucus carota) cultivars for use in processing. Marketable yield varied between the fall and spring production seasons for seven of the 15 cultivars with the highest yields recorded in the fall. ‘C 8771’ and ‘Heritage’ had the highest yields in Fall 2003. ‘Bremen’ and ‘Neptune’ were the highest yielding in Spring 2004. Root length was longest in the fall for a majority of cultivars with ‘PS 103397’ being the longest in the fall and ‘Pipeline’ longest in the spring. Forking of roots did not vary significantly for either season. Field color ratings were taken to indicate color differences between the interior core and cortex of the roots. ‘Florida’, ‘Heritage’, ‘Kamaran’, and ‘C 8771’ had consistently less difference between the core and cortex colors. Based on consistent yield and color uniformity, the authors would recommend the use of ‘C 8771’ and ‘Kamaran’ for both spring and fall production seasons in Oklahoma and the use of ‘Heritage’ and ‘Florida’ for fall production.
Rootstocks can offer benefits such as pest resistance, tolerance of certain soil characteristics and tolerance of salts and salinity. The objective of this study was to determine if `Cabernet Franc' grafted onto various rootstocks differed in a number of measured yield and quality variables. The plots consisted of Clone 1 `Cabernet Franc' with four different rootstocks: 1103 Paulsen, 140 Ruggeri, 3309 Couderc, and St. George. Rootstock did not have much effect on the yield or quality of fruit produced by `Cabernet Franc'. Although not significantly different, the overall yield of 3309C appears to be lower than the other rootstocks. With further data, it might be possible to identify annual climate patterns that favor one rootstock over another with respect to certain quality attributes. One particular problem with `Cabernet Franc' in Oklahoma is its tendency to overbear, thus resulting in uneven ripening.
Lycopene from ground watermelon flesh can be segregated between filtrate and filter cake by coarse filtration. Low speed centrifugation of the filtrate can further segregate filtrate lycopene between an easily recoverable precipitated high lycopene pellet and a serum. Lycopene in watermelon flesh increases steadily during maturation and remains constant, or slightly decreases in overripe melons. This study was conducted to document the effect of melon maturity on lycopene segregation during filtration/centrifugal processing. Flesh of three seedless watermelon cultivars was ground and filtered through two layers of Miracloth. Filter cakes were rinsed with water and filtrates were centrifuged at 3500 g to precipitate lycopene. Centrifugal recovery of lycopene from filtrates was about the same for undermature and mature melons (50% to 70%), but was much lower for overripe melons (35% to 45%). This decline in recoverable lycopene from overripe melons could be negated if ground flesh was heated to 60 or 85 °C prior to filtration. Lycopene from preheated flesh segregated predominately into the filter cake for all three maturity groupings. The interaction between melon maturity and pre-filtration heating will be evaluated and integrated into a potential watermelon lycopene production system.