`Honeycrisp' apples (Malus × domestica) were harvested over 3-week periods in 2001 and 2002. Maturity and quality indices were determined at harvest. Fruit quality was evaluated after air storage [0.0 to 2.2 °C (32 to 36 °F), 95% relative humidity] for 10-13 weeks and 15-18 weeks for the 2001 and 2002 harvests, respectively. Internal ethylene concentrations (IEC), starch indices (1-8 scale), firmness and soluble solids content (SSC) did not show consistent patterns of change over time. Starch hydrolysis was advanced on all harvest dates, but it is suggested that a starch index of 7 is a useful guide for timing harvest of fruit in western New York. After storage, firmness closely followed that observed immediately after harvest, and softening during storage was slow. No change in SSC was observed during storage in either year. Incidence of bitter pit and soft scald was generally low and was not affected consistently by harvest date. The incidence of stem punctures averaged 18.5% over both years, but was not affected by harvest date. Development of stem end cracking in both years, and rot development in one year, increased with later harvest dates. A panel of storage operators, packers, growers, and fruit extension specialists evaluated the samples for appearance and eating quality after storage, and results suggested that a 2-week harvest window is optimal for `Honeycrisp' apples that are spot picked to select the most mature fruit at each harvest.
Abstract
Data on 15 traits collected from 30 walnut selections were analyzed for changes in relation to both clone and rootstock age. Data collection began at first flowering (age 3 or 4) and continued annually for up to 28 years on each clone. Significant correlations were found between seasonal timing of the expression of phenological traits and clone age. The general trend was towards earlier leafing, bloom, and time of nut maturity as the clone aged. Correlations with rootstock age were lower than with clone age for phenological traits. Shell and kernel trait expression was more highly correlated with rootstock age than clone age, suggesting that changes may be due to vigor and other effects of grafting rather than aging per se. Estimates of the age of stabilization for phenological traits ranged between 9 and 18 years from germination. It is suggested that changes in leafing, bloom, and nut maturity dates be considered prior to commercial release of walnut cultivars.
Softening and liquefaction of `Solar Set' locules was studied by examining cell wall polysaccharides during fruit developmental stages (FDS) of immature green, mature green and breaker. Ethanol insoluble solids (EIS) were sequentially extracted by H2O, CDTA, and Na2CO3 solutions. The chromatograms of gel filtration among the same-solution extracts of EISs from three FDS were similar. Gradient DEAE also yielded similar patterns among FDS in each extraction solvent, even though the patterns of Na2CO3 extracts differed from those of H2O and CDTA extracts. The mole ratio of total polyuronides decreased for Gal, Ara, and Xyl at later FDS in both EIS and in all extracted polymers. Gal had the highest mole percentage of total neutral sugars, followed by Ara, Xyl, and Rha. While the mole percentage of neutral sugars for Gal, Rha, Ara, and Xyl were relatively similar among FDS in H2O extracts, those in CDTA and Na2CO3 extracts either increased or decreased, depending on individual neutral sugar. SDS-PAGE showed increased density in locule-tissue proteins, especially one with a molecular weight of less than 20 kDa, during later FDS. Results indicate that pectin depolymerization was limited and major neutral sugars commonly composing side chains showed a net decrease.
Abstract
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. ‘Wonderful’) fruit reached horticultural maturity for commercial harvest when the soluble solids content (SSC) attained a fairly constant level of 15%. The level of titratable acidity (TA) varied from one location to another and from one year to the next but also generally remained stable at the same time that the SSC reached 15%. After harvest, there was no further change in either SSC or TA at 20°C, but redness of the juice continued to increase in intensity up to and after harvest. The respiration pattern of the mature fruit was of the nonclimacteric type, with only traces of ethylene evolved on occasion. Ethylene treatment of the fruit caused a rapid transient rise in CO2 evolution but no changes in SSC, TA, and fruit or juice color. A pseudo-climacteric pattern of respiration was found in very young immature fruit. The respiration rate of dehisced arils paralleled that of the intact fruit, but there was no response to exogenous ethylene treatment. Ethylene evidently stimulated the CO2 output only of the fruit rind.
A statistical model was used to partition the effects of age group, cutting position within the plant crown, and ramet environment on propagule development from stem cuttings collected from random stock plants of Ilex ×attenuata Ashe `Foster #2' (`Foster' holly). Most of the intra-clonal variation observed originated from sources not partitioned by the model. Small differences in growth were associated with sampling position within the crown. Repropagation gave no indication that factors measured by the model could be passed from ramet to propagule. Within-clone variation was not reduced by repropagation or by hedging propagules to force new growth.
Two experiments were conducted to develop a protocol for rooting stem cuttings from 3-, 5-, and 7-year-old fraser fir [Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir.] Christmas trees. The first experiment tested the effect of stumping treatments and tree age on shoot production and subsequent adventitious rooting. One auxin concentration [4 mm indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)] and a nonauxin control were tested. Stock plants were stumped to the first whorl (trees in the field 3 and 5 years) or the first, third, and fifth whorls (trees in the field 7 years). Intact (nonstumped) controls were also included for each age. The second experiment was designed to create a quantitative description of the effects that crown (foliage and above ground branches of a tree) position have on the rooting of stem cuttings collected from stumped and nonstumped trees. The exact position was determined by measuring the distance from the stem, height from the ground, and the degrees from north. Crown positions were recorded as cuttings were collected and then cuttings were tested for rooting response. The rooting traits assessed in both experiments included rooting percentage, percent mortality, number of primary roots, total root length, root symmetry, and root angle. In the first experiment, rooting percentage, primary root production, and total root length increased as the age of the stock plant decreased and the severity of the stumping treatment increased. Auxin treatment significantly increased rooting percentage, root production, root lengths, and root symmetry while decreasing mortality. Overall, the highest rooting percentages (51%) and the greatest number of primary roots (8.1) occurred when 3-year-old stock plants were stumped to the first whorl and treated the cuttings with 4 mm IBA. The greatest total root lengths (335 mm) occurred in cuttings from the 3-year-old stock plants. In the second experiment, rooting percentage was significantly affected by the position from which the cuttings were collected. Cuttings collected lower in the crown and closer to the main stem rooted more frequently than cuttings collected from the outer and upper crown.
Bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) are classified as nonclimacteric fruits while some hot peppers have been reported as climacteric. Responses of peppers to exogenously applied ethylene-releasing compounds suggest ethylene involvement in the ripening process. Ethylene production and respiration rates in 13 cultivars of pepper: `Camelot', `Cherry Bomb', `Chiltepin', `Cubanelle', `Banana Supreme', `Habanero', `Hungarian Wax', `Mesilla', `Mitla', `Savory', `Sure Fire', `Tabasco', and `King Arthur' were studied under greenhouse and field conditions. Fruit from each cultivar were harvested at different maturity stages determined by color, ranging from mature-green to full red-ripe. Carbon dioxide and ethylene production were measured by gas chromatography. Both variables were significantly different among maturity stages for all cultivars. Respiration rates were between 16.5 and 440.3 mg·kg-1·h-1 CO2. Ethylene production ranged from 0.002 to 1.1 μL·kg-1·h-1. Two patterns of CO2 production were identified: higher CO2 production for mature-green fruit with successive decreases for the rest of the maturity stages or lower respiration rates for mature-green fruit with an increase in CO2 production either when fruit were changing color or once fruit were almost totally red. A rise in CO2 production was present for most cultivars. Ethylene evolution increased significantly at maturity or before maturity in all cultivars except `Cubanelle' and `Hungarian Wax'. Respiration rates and ethylene production were significantly different among cultivars at the mature-green and red stages.
Abstract
The muskmelon cultivar Honey Dew (Cucumis melo L.) has unique horticultural and physiological characteristics, most notably an unusually long period between attainment of acceptable horticultural maturity and self-ripening in the field. Patterns of flowering, fruit set, fruit growth, solids accumulation, softening, ethylene production, respiration, and variation among individual fruits were studied during several seasons. Internal ethylene concentration may be estimated by the following formula: ppm internal = 3.7 ± 1.2 × rate of production in µl/kg-hr. The act of harvesting had no effect on ethylene production or internal concentration. Full ripening required an internal ethylene concentration of about 3 ppm. Horticultural maturity was attained at 35 to 37 days after anthesis, but self-ripening required about 47 days. Commercial harvests include fruits in this range of ages, so treatment with ethylene is required for uniform ripening and consumer satisfaction.
Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) seed crops sometimes contain seeds with split coats that expand to twice their normal water content. These expanded seeds are often referred to as “fishmouth” seeds, because the split seed coat resembles an open fish's mouth when viewed longitudinally. “Fishmouth” seeds are dead seeds. However, little is known about why death occurs inside the fruit before harvest. Hermaphroditic flowers were tagged at anthesis and fruits were harvested at various intervals during the later stages of development and decay. Seeds were removed from the fruits and incubated in water on germination blotter paper for 14 days. The percentage of germinable, dead and “fishmouth” seeds were averaged for each Harvest date. Fruit pericarp samples were analyzed for pH, ethanol, and acetic acid content. At 50 days after anthesis (DAA), just past edible maturity, 100% of the seeds germinated. However, at 60 and 78 DAA germination dropped to 60 and 17%, respectively, while the occurrence of “fishmouth” seeds increased from 2 to 54% over the same period. The ethanol content of the tissue increased from 0.11 to 0.28%, the pH dropped from 6.2 to 5.1, and acetic acid concentration increased from 3.0 to 3.7 mM from 50 to 60 DAA, respectively. However, when dried seeds were incubated in the laboratory under conditions similar to those within the fruit, the formation of “fishmouth” seeds was related to the ageing effects of long term hydration and was not correlated with any chemical product within the fruit.
Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity was assayed on hypodermal- and middle-mesocarp tissues from netted muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) fruit 10, 20, 30, and 40 days postanthesis and after 12 days of storage at 4 or 21C. Highest LOX activity was obtained using a phosphate buffer at pH 7 and 20C. LOX activity was detected only in hypodermal-mesocarp (hypodermic) tissue at 30 days postanthesis, and activity increased with fruit age and storage temperature. Antioxidants, which inhibit LOX, were detected only in hypodermic tissue from 10 through 30 days postanthesis fruits. Linoleic plus linolenic free fatty acids, substrates for LOX, in hypodermic tissue had declined at 30 days postanthesis, as did plasma membrane integrity, and both continued to decline in association with increased LOX activity.