Blueberry cuttings are difficult to root, so alternatives that maximize their rhizogenic potential are essential for the expansion of the crop. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the basal lesion and different methods of indolebutyric acid (IBA) on the rooting of ‘Woodard’ herbaceous cuttings, collected in two seasons. The experimental design used was completely randomized in a 3x2x2 factorial arrangement, totaling 12 treatments and five replications. The factors consisted of different ways of IBA application (talc and alcohol in the concentration of 1,000 mg L-1, and without IBA), season of collection (autumn and summer), and two types of cuttings (with and without lesion in the basal portion). Two hundred days after the beginning of the experiment, there was no significant effect of the basal lesion on the rooting of the cuttings. However, it was found that rooting is influenced by the season of collection, with greater leaf retention, dry weight, number of roots per cutting, length of roots and length of the largest root collected in summer. The application of IBA talc provided a higher percentage of rooted cuttings (61.0%) in relation to alcohol (31.0%) and control (41.0%) when collected in the autumn. There was no difference between seasons when IBA was applied with talc, however, the application with alcohol solution and the control resulted in higher percentages of rooted cuttings in the summer (70.0% and 67.0%, respectively). Summer was considered the best season to collect ‘Woodard’ blueberry cuttings, although the IBA applied with talc has increased the percentage of rooted cuttings in the autumn. The basal lesion did not promote an increase in rooting.

The gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is the main concern for the postharvest conservation of table grapes worldwide, and the use of sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the most common practice for its control. The aim of this work was to assess the postharvest conservation of the hybrid table grape ‘BRS Nubia’ by using a new technology known as a field ultra-fast SO2-generating pad before packaging the grapes. The fruits were harvested in the 2021 season from a commercial vineyard located at Marialva, Parana, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with 4 treatments and 4 replications, and each plot consisted of 10 bunches. The treatments included: (a) control; (b) field ultra-fast SO2-generating pad (FUFR) during the 4 h before packaging; (c) dual-release SO2-generating pad (DR) during cold storage; and (d) FUFR pad during the 4 h before packaging in combination with the DR pad during cold storage. The bunches were packaged in 0.5 kg plastic clamshells and placed in carton boxes with a capacity of 10 units each. The treatments were evaluated after 30 and 45 days in cold storage (1 ± 1 °C) by means of the incidence of gray mold, shattered berries, stem browning, bunch mass loss and bleaching. After 45 days, the boxes were removed from cold storage and kept without the pads and liners for 3 days at room temperature (22 ± 1 °C), and the incidence of gray mold, shattered berries and stem browning were assessed. The use of the FUFR pad before packaging and the DR pad during cold storage, combined or not, were efficient at controlling gray mold, keeping the incidence of the disease very low. Both pads were also efficient at preventing the mass loss of grapes, but the percentage of shattered berries was lower when the FUFR pad was used. This allowed grapes to arrive already sanitized to the packing house, and no additional SO2-generating pads were needed, representing savings in economic terms for packaging operations. The stem browning, the chemical properties, and the color attributes of berries were not influenced by any treatment.

No abstract

The use of fungi of the genus Trichoderma spp. for the control of plant diseases it has proved to be an important and promising tool, mainly for the tomato crop production system, however, there are difficulties in establishing the bioagent. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of substrate incubation time after inoculation with Trichoderma harzianum to control the damping-off of tomato seedlings. The experimental design was completely randomized, consisting of six treatments and four replications. The treatments are two incubation times in two doses of T. harzianum (0 and 10 days of substrate incubation [DIST] after inoculation with T. harzianum in 1.0 or 5.0 g of T. harzianum) and two controls (control inoculated and not inoculated with Rhizoctonia solani). The variables analyzed were incidence of damping-off, area under the disease progress curve, percentage of emergence, emergency speed index, average emergency time, germination speed coefficient, total fresh mass, root length (cm) and height of the area part (cm). The treatments containing Trichoderma harzianum have proven to be promising for the control of R. solani and for the growth of tomato seedlings.

Table grapes are one of the leading fruit species cultivated in several countries due to their distinguishing sensory and nutritional properties. However, grapes are a non-climacteric fruit with relatively low physiological activity after harvest, and they are highly perishable due to gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea as well to mass loss, berry softening, color degradation, and dehydration and darkening of the stem. To avoid all these difficulties, several packaging materials are used during cold storage to keep table grapes fresh and healthy for consumers. Proper packaging and cold storage combined can extend the shelf life of high-quality bunches by protecting them from mechanical injuries and decays during transportation and storage. In recent years, several packaging materials have been developed to be used for domestic and export markets, especially those when the conservation of table grapes has to be extended for several weeks or even months. This review addresses the main recent packaging materials for postharvest conservation of table grapes during cold storage, including SO2-generating pads, perforated plastic, and bio-based liners.

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of pruning intensity on the phenology and production of blackberry cv. Xavante. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Paraná -Palotina, PR, Brazil, during the 2018/2019 season. The completely randomized design was used as a statical model with four treatments and seven replications. The treatments consisted of different number of stems of 1 m height retained per bush after the pruning: 2, 4, 6, and 8, and each plot consisted of one bush. Data collection included: sprouting and flowering (%), number of fruits per bush, fresh weight, total soluble solids content and titratable acidity of fruits. The number of stems per bush significantly influenced the number of shoots, flowers and fruits per bush, titratable acidity, soluble solids and maturation index. Under the growth conditions, the treatments consisted of 2 and 4 stems per bush resulted in more uniform growth development and higher chemical quality of fruits. However, the highest number of fruits per bush was observed when 8 stems per bush were retained.

The color of the berries is an important aspect of the quality of table grapes and crucial for marketing. The ‘Rubi’ table grapes grown in the subtropical climate generally lack color intensity due to the inhibition of anthocyanins by high temperatures during ripening. The exogenous application of abscisic acid (S-ABA) can be used to overcome this problem as the accumulation of anthocyanins in the berry skin is regulated by this plant growth regulator. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the exogenous application of S-ABA at different stages of ripening on color development in ‘Rubi’ table grapes using the soluble solids (SS) content as a marker of ripening. The study was conducted during two seasons in commercial vineyards. The first trial was conducted in Marialva, Parana, Brazil, during the 2019 summer season crop (harvest in December). S-ABA (400 mg L-1) was exogenously applied at different stages of ripening of ‘Rubi’ table grapes (determined by the SS content of the berries): control (without application); SS = 8-9 ºBrix; SS = 10-11 ºBrix; SS = 8-9 ºBrix (two applications; the second one applied 10 days after the first); and SS = 10-11 ºBrix (two applications; the second one applied 10 days after the first). The second trial was conducted in Cambira, Parana, Brazil, during the 2020 off-season crop (harvest in May). S-ABA (400 mg L-1) was exogenously applied at different stages of ripening of ‘Rubi’ grapes: control (without application); SS = 6-7 ºBrix; SS = 7-8 ºBrix; SS = 9-10 ºBrix; SS = 6-7 ºBrix (two applications; the second one applied 14 days after the first); SS = 7-8 ºBrix (two applications; the second one applied 14 days after the first); and SS = 9-10 ºBrix (two applications; the second one applied 14 days after the first). A randomized block design was used as the statistical model with four replications, and each plot consisted of one vine. The variables analyzed were total anthocyanin contents, color index (CIRG), and color attributes (L*, C*, h°, and ΔE) of berry skin. The total anthocyanin accumulation and color attributes of the berries were evaluated every 10 and 7 days after the first application of S-ABA until harvest in the first and second trials, respectively, and the other variables were evaluated at harvest. In the summer-season crop, when the SS content was 8-11 ºBrix, the application of S-ABA increased the concentration of the total anthocyanins 4 times compared to that in the control, improving berry color development. Furthermore, in the off-season crop, when the SS content was 6-10 ºBrix, the application of S-ABA increased the concentration of total anthocyanins 2-3 times compared to that in the control, improving the color attributes of berries. In both crops, a single application of the plant growth regulator was sufficient to intensify the color of the berries.

The aim of this work was to evaluate different SO2-generating pads and liners to control gray mold in ventilated clamshell-packaged ‘Rubi’ table grapes grown under a two-cropping per year system. The treatments consisted of SO2-generating pads (slow release or dual release) and plastic liners with different perforations (microperforated; 2.0; 4.0 or 5.0 mm in diameter) and a control, only with the standard microperforated plastic liner. The packaged grapes were stored in a cold chamber at 1.0 ± 1.0 °C and 95% relative humidity. After 45 days, the grapes were removed from cold storage and placed, without liners and SO2-generating pads, for 3 days at room temperature (22.0 ± 1.0 °C). The evaluations occurred at 30 and 45 days after the beginning of cold storage, and the following variables were assessed: incidence of gray mold, mass loss, stem browning and shattered berries. At 3 days of shelf-life, the same variables were assessed, except mass loss. The completely randomized design was used as a statistical model with four replications, and each plot consisted of five bunches individually stored in ventilated clamshell-packaged. The dual release SO2-generating pads are efficient in controlling the gray mold in ‘Rubi’ table grapes regardless of the type of perforation of the plastic liners, with low mass loss and shattered berries, with good conservation of the freshness of the rachis. The disease was efficiently controlled in both annual crops. The slow-release SO2-generating pads, regardless of the type of perforation of the plastic liners, resulted in intermediate efficiency of gray mold control, with good physical quality of the bunches. Thus, the use of dual release SO2-generating pads is recommended to control gray mold in ventilated clamshell-packaged ‘Rubi’ table grapes.