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Effects of Lovastatin treatment on ethylene production, α-farnesene biosynthesis, and scald development were studied using `Delicious' and `Granny Smith' apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] and `d'Anjou' pears (Pyrus communis L.) stored in air at 0 °C. During 6 months storage, Lovastatin did not affect internal ethylene concentration but reduced α-farnesene production in a concentration dependent manner in both apples and pears. Lovastatin reduced scald at 0.63 mmol·L-1 and inhibited scald completely at 1.25 or 2.50 mmol·L-1 in `Delicious' and `Granny Smith' apples. In `d'Anjou' pears, Lovastatin at concentrations from 0.25 to 1.25 mmol·L-1 inhibited scald completely. After 8 months storage, inhibition of scald in both apples and pears by Lovastatin was concentration-dependent but none of the concentrations totally eliminated scald. Compared with 11.8 mmol·L-1 diphenylamine, Lovastatin treatment reduced scald to the same level at 1.25 mmol·L-1 in `d'Anjou' pear and 2.50 mmol·L-1 in `Delicious' and `Granny Smith' apples. Lovastatin did not affect apple or pear fruit color, firmness, soluble solids content, or titratable acidity during storage in either apple or pear compared with the controls. Chemical name used: [1S-[1a (R °), 3α, 7β, 8β (2S °, 4S °), 8αβ]]-1,2,3,7,8,8α-hexahydro-3,7-dimethyl-8-[2-(tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-6-oxo-2H-pyran-2-yl)ethyl]-1-naphthaienyl 2-methylbutanoate (Lovastatin).
Uptake, recycling, and partitioning of N in relation to N supply and dry matter partitioning was determined for 3- and 4-year-old `Elstar' apple trees [(Malus sylvestris (L) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] on Malling 9 rootstock in 1994 (year 3) and 1995 (year 4), respectively. Trees received N yearly as Ca(NO3)2 at 20 g/tree applied on a daily basis through a drip irrigation system. The fertilizer was labelled with 15N in year 3 to allow quantification of remobilization and uptake. The trees were not allowed to crop in years 1 and 2 and were not thinned in years 3 and 4, thereby establishing a range of crop loads. Dry matter and N contents were measured in fruit, midseason and senescent leaves and prunings collected in year 3, in midseason leaves, and in components of the whole trees, harvested in fall of year 4. Labelled N withdrawn from leaves in year 3 was less than that remobilized into leaves and fruit in year 4, indicating that senescent leaves were not the only source of remobilized N. Nitrogen uptake efficiency (total N uptake/N applied) in year 3 was low (22.3%). Of the N taken up, ≈50% was removed at the end of the growing season in fruit and leaves. In fall of year 4, the trees contained about 20 g N of which 50% was partitioned into leaves and fruit, indicating that the annual N uptake by young dwarf apple trees is low (≈10 g/tree). Data were pooled to compare dry matter and N partitioning into two major sinks: fruit and shoot leaves. Total fruit dry weight increased, and in year 4, fruit size decreased with fruit number, indicating that growth was carbon (C) limited at high crop loads. The number of shoot leaves initiated in both years was unaffected by fruit number, but leaf size decreased as fruit number increased in year 4. In year 3, the amount of both remobilized and root-supplied N in fruit increased with fruit number, but the N content of the shoot leaf canopy was unaffected. In general, N and C partitioning were coupled and leaf N concentrations were high (2.8% to 3.2%), suggesting that the low uptake efficiency of fertilizer N resulted because the availability of N in the root zone greatly exceeded demand.
Data obtained over two years from chemical thinning experiments with `Redchief Delicious' apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Manst.] on Malling 26 (M.26) rootstock were used to estimate mean fruit weight (MFW) and mean fruit value (MFV) using two sampling methods. The estimated values were compared with the true MFW and the true MFV calculated from the entire crop from a tree. Statistical techniques were used to assess agreement between the values obtained with estimation methods and the true values. Estimates of MFW obtained from a 20-fruit sample per tree may differ from the true value by ≈13% and estimates obtained from weighing all fruit on three limbs per tree may range from 11% to 19% of the true mean. Estimates of MFV obtained from packouts of a 20-fruit sample may differ from the true value by about $0.04 (U.S. dollars)/fruit and estimates from packing out all fruit on three limbs per tree may differ from the true mean by about $0.07/fruit. Analysis of variance was performed on each data set. The resulting P values differed for the three methods of calculating MFW and MFV. Therefore, erroneous conclusions may result from experiments where MFW and MFV are estimated from subsamples. Error associated with estimating fruit weight and fruit value from the sampling methods employed in this study may be larger than many pomologists can accept. Until protocols for sampling apple trees, which account for the important sources of within-tree variation, are developed, researchers should consider harvesting the entire crop to calculate MFW and MFV.
The influence of rootstock on average fruit weight was evaluated for a subset of data from a multilocation NC-140 apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] rootstock trial. Data for eight dwarf rootstocks were collected at four locations for 2 years. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the effect of rootstock on average fruit weight when crop density or number of fruit per tree was included in the linear model as a covariate. When number of fruit harvested per tree was used as a covariate, average fruit weight was not affected by rootstock in either year in Ontario. In Michigan and Virginia, rootstock and number of fruit per tree, but not the rootstock × number of fruit interaction, were significant, so common slopes models were used to estimate least squares means for average fruit weight. In general, trees on M.27 and P.1 produced the smallest fruit, and trees on B.9, M.9 EMLA, and Mac.39 produced the largest fruit. In New York the interaction of rootstock × number of fruit was significant, so least squares means were estimated at three levels of number of fruit per tree. Both years, at all levels of number of fruit, trees on M.26 EMLA produced the smallest fruit and trees on M.27 EMLA produced the largest fruit. Average fruit weight was most affected by number of fruit per tree when Mark was the rootstock. In general, results were similar when crop density was used as the covariate, except that trees on M.27 EMLA did not produce small fruit in Michigan and Ontario.
Effects of postharvest pressure infiltration of distilled water, CaCl2 solutions at 0.14 or 0.27 mol·L-1 without and with subsequent fruit coating treatments of preclimacteric `Golden Delicious' [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf. `Golden Delicious'] apples on volatile levels, respiration, ethylene production, and internal atmospheres after storage at 0 °C for 1 to 6 months, and during subsequent shelf life at 20 °C were investigated. Over 30 volatiles were detected, most of the identified volatiles were esters; the rest were alcohols, aldehydes, ethers, a ketone, and a sesquiterpene. Pressure infiltration of water and increasing concentrations of CaCl2 resulted progressively in reduced total volatile levels, respiration, ethylene production, and internal O2 levels and increased CO2 levels in fruit following 2 to 4 months storage in air at 0 °C. Total volatile levels, respiration, ethylene production, and internal atmospheres of CaCl2-treated apples at 0.14 mol·L-1 gradually recovered to nontreated control levels following 2 weeks of shelf life at 20 °C and/or storage at 0 °C in air for more than 4 months. Following the calcium treatments with a shellac- or wax-based coating had similar but stronger and more persistent effects on volatile levels, respiration, ethylene production, and internal atmospheres than those found in fruit treated with CaCl2 alone. Calcium infiltration did not change the composition of volatile compounds found in fruit. Results suggest that pressure infiltration of `Golden Delicious' apples with CaCl2 solutions transiently inhibited volatile levels, respiration, and ethylene production, in part, by forming a more-or-less transient barrier to CO2 and O2 exchange between the fruit tissue and the surrounding atmosphere.
Research quantified contributions to total variation in water vapor permeance from sources such as cultivar and harvest date in `Braeburn', `Pacific Rose', `Granny Smith', and `Cripps Pink' apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.]. In a study on `Braeburn' fruit from eight orchards in Central Otago, New Zealand, >50% of the total variation in permeance was associated with harvest date. This variation was the result of a large increase in water vapor permeance from 16.6 to 30.2 (se = 0.88, df = 192) nmol·s-1·m-2·Pa-1 over the 8 week experimental harvest period. Fruit to fruit differences accounted for 22% of total variation in permeance. Interaction between harvest date and orchard effects explained 7% of the total variation, indicating that fruit from the different orchards responded in differing ways to advancing harvest date. Tree effects accounted for only 1% of the total variation. Weight loss from respiration [at 20 °C and ≈60% relative humidity (RH)] comprised 3.04±0.11% of total weight loss, averaged across all harvest dates. In a second study of fruit of four apple cultivars, almost 30% of the total variation in water vapor permeance was associated with cultivar differences. Mean water vapor permeance for `Braeburn', `Pacific Rose', `Granny Smith', and `Cripps Pink' fruit was 44, 35, 17, and 20 (se = 4.3, df = 300) nmol·s-1·m-2·Pa-1 respectively. Over 20% of the total variation was associated with harvest date and arose from a large increase in water vapor permeance from 21 nmol·s-1·m-2·Pa-1 at first harvest to 46 nmol·s-1·m-2·Pa-1 (se = 5.3, df = 200) at final harvest, 10 weeks later, on average across all four cultivars. There was large fruit to fruit variation in water vapor permeance accounting for 25% of the total variation in permeance values. Tree effects only accounted for 4% of the total variation. Water vapor permeance in `Pacific Rose'` and `Braeburn' increased substantially with later harvest but values remained relatively constant for `Granny Smith' and `Cripps Pink'. A simple mathematical model was developed to predict weight loss from `Braeburn' fruit. Based on these findings, it appears worthwhile to increase the stringency of measures to control weight loss in `Braeburn' and `Pacific Rose'` apples, particularly those harvested late in the season.
Endogenous ABA, free and conjugated ACC concentrations, ethylene-forming capacity (EFC), and presence of ACC oxidase (ACO) and ACC synthase (ACS) proteins were monitored during the preharvest maturation period of `Granny Smith' apple fruit (Malus sylvestris L. Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf. `Granny Smith'). Total proteins from peel and pulp tissues were also extracted at different maturity stages and separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, providing evidence of differential protein accumulation during fruit development. Endogenous ABA concentration in the peel tissue was higher than in pulp, the highest level occurring ≈2 months before commercial harvest. In the pulp tissue, concomitant increases in ACC and ABA concentrations were observed, preceded by a peak in EFC. However, no ACO or ripening-related ACS proteins were detectable throughout the period considered, suggesting that very low levels of both enzymes are present during the preclimacteric stage of `Granny Smith' apples. A hypothesis on the possible interaction between ABA and ethylene during maturation of `Granny Smith' apples is proposed. Chemical names used: abscisic acid (ABA); 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC).
Cyanidin 3-galactoside was the primary anthocyanin in red `Tsugaru' apples [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.]. The concentration of cyanidin 3-galactoside in the skin decreased from 20 to 62 days after full bloom (DAFB), then increased rapidly after 104 DAFB. Small amounts of cyanidin 3-arabinoside and cyanidin 3-glucoside were detected at 122 and 133 DAFB (harvest). The expression of five anthocyanin biosynthetic genes of chalcone synthase (MdCHS), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (MdF3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (pDFR), anthocyanidin synthase (MdANS), and UDP glucose-flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (pUFGluT) was examined in the skin of red and nonred apples. In general, the expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in red apples was strong in juvenile and ripening stages. The expression of MdCHS, MdF3H, pDFR, and MdANS was observed before ripening stage when anthocyanin was not detected. In contrast, the expression of pUFGluT was detected in the development stage only when anthocyanin was detected. However, the expression of all five genes was observed at 20 DAFB in fruit bagged after fertilization, and anthocyanin was not detected. The expression of MdCHS, MdF3H, pDFR, and MdANS, excluding pUFGluT, was detected at 98 DAFB in fruit bagged after 30 DAFB, and anthocyanin was not detected. These results suggest that pUFGluT may be closely related to the anthocyanin expression in apple skin at the ripening stage.
Trans-jasmonic acid (JA), cis-JA, and trans-methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were quantified in pulp and seeds of `Tsugaru' apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] and `Satohnishiki' sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.). Trans-JA and cis-JA showed similar changes during development in both types of fruit. JA concentration was high in the early growth stages of apple pulp development, decreased with days after full bloom (DAFB), and then increased again during maturation. There was an initial decrease in concentration of MeJA in apple pulp, followed by a general increase towards harvest. Concentrations of JA and MeJA in the pulp of sweet cherry were high during early growth stages, then decreased towards harvest. PDJ treatment at 104 DAFB (preclimacteric stage) increased endogenous abscisic acid concentration and anthocyanin concentration at 122 and 131 DAFB (maturation stages) in apple. JA concentration in apple seeds was also high in the early growth stages, then decreased, and finally peaked at harvest. MeJA concentration in apple seeds increased towards harvest. In the seeds of sweet cherry, JA and MeJA concentrations generally increased until harvest. In both types of fruit, concentrations of JA and MeJA in the seeds were higher than those of pulp. On a dry weight basis, changes in concentration in the seeds preceded those in the pulp. These results demonstrate that relatively high amounts of JA and MeJA are associated with young developing fruit. These substances may have a role in regulation of fruit growth at early growth stages, though this has not been demonstrated. Chemical name used: n-propyl dihydrojasmonate (PDJ).
Two apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] homologous fragments of FLO/LFY and SQUA/AP1 (AFL and MdAP1, respectively) were analyzed to determine the relationship between floral bud formation and floral gene expression in `Jonathan' apple. The AFL gene was expressed in reproductive and vegetative organs. By contrast, the MdAP1 gene, identified as MdMADS5, which is classified into the AP1 group, was expressed specifically in sepals concurrent with sepal formation. Based on these results, AFL may be involved in floral induction to a greater degree than MdAP1 since AFL transcription increased ≈2 months earlier than MdAP1. Characterization of AFL and MdAP1 should advance the understanding of the processes of floral initiation and flower development in woody plants, especially in fruit trees like apple.