This research was conducted to study the effects of chemical and hand thinning on fruit quality of 'Gerdi' apricot. In the first year, three weeks after full bloom (AFB) branches of mature trees were sprayed with naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) at 10, 20, and 40 mg L , and NAD at 40 and 80 mg L -1 increased fruit weight in 2006, but only the highest concentration of NAD was effective in 2007, while urea was effective at all concentrations in both years. Ethephon effect on fruit weight was not significant at all. Hand thinning consistently increased fruit weight, but length and diameter were increased only at a leaf to fruit ratio of 30:1. Hand thinning also increased total soluble solids (TSS), total soluble solids to total acidity ratio (TSS/TA), pit weight and flesh to pit ratio.
Pomegranate is a perishable superfruit with important human health-promoting phytochemicals. The use of cold storage is inevitable for its long-term preservation. As pomegranate is sensitive to temperatures below 5°C, it is therefore necessary and worthwhile to introduce a postharvest technique that is safe, applicable, and commercially acceptable to maintain the fruit quality under a cold storage condition. The efficacy of intermittent warming (IW) in the form of a single warming period (1 day at 20°C with 70% relative humidity (RH) before returning the treated fruit to storage) during the cold storage of ‘Rabab-e-Neyriz’ pomegranate (70 days at 2 ± 0.5°C and 90 ± 5% RH) was evaluated. To find the best treatment time, warming was performed at 4 temporary interruption points in storage (after 15, 25, 35, or 45 days of storage). For each interruption date, the treated fruit were compared to the controls twice, once immediately after treatment and once at the end of the storage period. It was founded that a single warming period at the right time during cold storage (before irreversible damage occurs) activated multiple mechanisms and physiological responses in pomegranate fruit peel that are significantly responsible for alleviating the severity of chilling damage to this commodity. In other words, warming on the 15th day was the most efficient treatment, resulting in better preservation of unsaturated fatty acids from peroxidation, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) production, and preservation of the unsaturated/saturated fatty acids (UFAs/SFAs) ratio (membrane integrity index) in the peel during storage and lower chilling injury symptoms. Moreover, the content of spermine (Spm) and putrescine (Put) (as important antioxidants acting as membrane safety agents) was significantly increased immediately after treatment, followed by a continuous increase in Spm and a higher level of Put compared to control until the end of storage.
Intermittent warming (IW) is a good postharvest technique to prevent or
alleviate chilling injuries during cold storage. Performing the warming
treatment at the period of time before chilling injury is irreversible during
storage, and it is the first prerequisite for a successful IW treatment. In
order to determine the fruit physiochemical changes and time of irreversible
chilling injury incidence during cold storage of pomegranate fruit (cv.
Rabab-e-Neyriz), this research was conducted. Fruits were stored at 2 ? 0.5?C
and 90 ? 5% relative humidity for 90 days. At 15-day intervals, 40 fruits
(four replicates and 10 fruits in each replicate) were sampled and further
stored at 20?C for 3 days (shelf life). Chilling injury (CI) index and weight
loss (WL) in intact fruits, electrolyte leakage (EL) and K leakage (KL) in
peel samples, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS/TA
ratio and pH in fruit juice were measured. With respect to quality
parameters, TSS did not change significantly under cold storage. According to
TA changes, the TSS/TA ratio was decreased up to 30 days but subsequently
increased and the highest ratio was detected at the end of storage, which was
significantly higher than the TSS/TA ratio at the harvest time. Results
related to CI index, WL, EL and KL showed that pomegranate fruits could be
stored cold without significant chilling damages up to 30 days. It was
suggested that performing the IW treatment during this period could be
concomitant with desired effects in long-term storage of this commercial
cultivar.
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