No abstract

Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is a newly developed melon cultivar that is exclusively planted in Terengganu and has monoecious flowers where female and male parts are in different flowers of the same plant. Current practise for MMT pollination mainly depends on humans by hand-cross pollination treatment. However, until now little study on the potential of stingless bees as pollinator for greenhouse MMT has been documented in Malaysia. In this study, two species of stingless bees, Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica were placed with the MMT in the greenhouse. This study is aimed to investigate and compare the quality of MMT produced by four different pollination treatments; (1) self-pollination, (2) hand-cross pollination, (3) H. itama pollination and (4) G. thoracica pollination. Two hives of each stingless bee species were placed into the greenhouse at least two days before the MMT flowers bloomed. MMT produced from pollination by both stingless bee species and hand-cross pollination were significantly heavier in fresh weight, larger in diameter, higher in total soluble solid (TSS), and greater number of seeds per fruit compared to those produced from self-pollination. Pollination by stingless bees reached fruits with higher sweetness than hand-cross pollination and self-pollination. Results revealed that the stingless bee pollination on MMT production was similar to the MMT produced from hand-cross pollination. This study provides essential information on the potential of native stingless bees, H.itama and G. thoracica which can be effective pollinators for the MMT grown in the greenhouse besides manual pollination.

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) are common pollinators in the Malaysian agricultural ecosystem. Stingless bees are regarded as a good candidate for commercial pollination because of their specialized foraging adaptations and frequent visitation to cultivated fields. Unlike honeybees and bumble bees, stingless bees have not yet been commercially bred on a large scale for pollination purposes. Several studies outside Malaysia have shown that stingless bees' foraging activities may increase the production and quality of fruits. However, the role of stingless bees in producing quality fruits in open fields or in greenhouse crops in the Malaysian agricultural ecosystem is still unknown. In this review, the authors discuss the efficiency of stingless bees, Heterotrigona itama, pollination services on some important cultivated crops in Malaysia, namely chili (Capsicum annuum), cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), and rock melon (Cucumis melo) based on previous reports. The findings revealed that pollination by H. itama can increase fruit size and weight, seed number, and pericarp volume.

Seedless fruit is a fruit developed to possess no mature seeds. Today lifestyle, consumers and/or manufacturers prefer fruit without seeds as removing it is time-consuming and troublesome. Indeed, seedless fruits have better organoleptic attributes than seeded fruits. To produce seedless roselle and maintain its postharvest quality, various spray applications of synthetic and naturally occurring plant growth regulators were investigated. Roselle is perishable and non-climacteric fruit that is exposed to rapid postharvest physiological deterioration following harvest. Thus, producing seedless fruit may reduce time and labor costs during the removing seed process. The experimental treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design with different types of plant growth regulators and spray applications.  The PGRs treatments at varying frequencies were sprayed on roselle flower buds at 35, 45, 55, and 65 days after transplanting (DAT). Among all PGRs treatments, the plant treated with 800 mg/L GA3 + seaweed extract (4 sprays) had developed seedless roselle fruit by exhibiting the smallest capsule diameter, capsule volume, and a low number of seeds. In a conclusion, the application of 800 mg/L GA3 + seaweed extract (4 sprays) was the effective concentration to produce seedless roselle fruit and maintain its postharvest quality.

Black ginger (Kaempferia parviflora Wall. Ex. Baker) or “halia hitam” in Malay has been traditionally used as health-promoting herbs in relieving body pains, allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, and fungal infections. Recently, black ginger has increased attention from many researchers to identify its medicinal value to treat diseases. In line with that, the objective of the study is to determine the impact of drying temperatures of black ginger rhizomes slices on the different applications of growing media. The experiment was arranged in a complete randomized design with two factors viz. i) different growing media [cocopeat, cocopeat+rice husk biochar, cocopeat+palm kernel shell biochar, cocopeat+sugarcane bagasse biochar, and cocopeat+coconut shell biochar] and ii) two different drying temperature (50 °C & 75 °C) with three replications. The postharvest parameters were total phenolic compound (TPC), total antioxidant (TA), water activity (Aw), and mineral nutrients content. In conclusion, rhizomes planted in Cocopeat+600g biochar substrates such as sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, palm kernel shell, and coconut shell could be suggested as effective growing media for black ginger cultivation under fertigation system and continued with 75 °C drying temperatures without adversely affecting the postharvest quality of black ginger.

is usually red in colour during ripening but can be green, white, or yellowish depending on the cultivar. Strawberry is a highly commercial fruit and most often consumed fresh. Strawberry is rich in carbohydrates, vitamin C and natural antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds (Erkan & Wang, 2008

Strawberry (Fragaria Ananassa sp.) is non-climacteric, aggregate fruit with a rich source of anthocyanin and vitamin C. However, strawberry has short storage life and is very susceptible to decay and physiological deterioration process. Therefore, emitting the post-harvest LED light to strawberries during cold storage has been studied. This work aimed to evaluate different LED light treatment effects to retain post-harvest quality and microbial quality of the strawberry. The post-harvest parameters that have been used are weight loss, colour, firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH. The microbial parameter such as Escherichia coli count, Salmonella count, total plate count, and mold count would also has been assessed. Strawberries were irradiated under three different LED light types (white, blue and red). Blue and red LED lights have different wavelengths, which are 470 nm and 630 nm. The strawberry fruits were stored at 5ºC in a cold room and study parameter were assessed in 10 days. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the treatment of weight loss, firmness, pH, and total soluble solid. The best treatment for this experiment is blue LED light which showed the lowest weight loss, retained the colour and delayed firmness loss of the strawberry. This study also proved that blue LED light could reduce the growth of E.coli. In conclusion, LED light produces minimal heat, which improves food safety and preserves post-harvest quality of strawberry.

Banana has a short storage life and is classified under climacteric fruit that produces enough ethylene in changing physico-chemical characteristics, including colour, texture, aroma, chemical composition, respiration rate and senescence. Besides that, the presence of microbes also contributes to the postharvest losses which can be reduced by implementing various postharvest management practices that are currently in practice all over the world. Research has been done in delaying ripening and maintaining the quality of banana such as hot water treatment, controlled atmosphere storage, modified atmosphere packaging and postharvest chemical treatments such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid or oxalic acid. However, not many focus on non-chemical method such as UV-C radiation. In line with that, this study aimed at evaluating the effects of UV-C radiation in delaying ripening and maintaining the postharvest quality of Berangan banana. Five treatments of UV-C radiation were used viz. 0.000 kJ/m², 0.004 kJ/m², 0.008 kJ/m², 0.012 kJ/m² and 0.016 kJ/m² with three replications. Postharvest parameters evaluated were percentage of weight loss (%), skin colour, starch pattern index (SPI), fruit firmness, soluble solids concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid (AA) and total phenolic content (TPC). The application of UV-C radiation did not significantly affect all postharvest parameters of treated Berangan bananas. However, UV-C radiation at 0.008 kJ/m2 tended to show the lower percentage weight loss and SPI score. In conclusion, 0.008 kJ/m² of UV-C radiation could be applied to delay ripening and maintaining other quality attributes of Berangan bananas. In addition, 0.008 kJ/m² UV-C also able to prolong the shelf life of Berangan bananas stored at 26±2°C/75% relative humidity up to nine days.