Hexanal vapor inhibited hyphae growth of Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and on apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) slices. After 48 hours exposure to 4.1 μmol·L-1 (100 ppm) hexanal, the hyphae growth of both fungi was about 50% that of untreated controls. At a concentration of 10.3 μmol·L-1 (250 ppm), neither fungus grew during the treatment period, however, some growth of both fungi occurred 120 hours after treatment. At concentrations of hexanal vapor of 18.6 μmol·L-1 (450 ppm) or more, the growth of both fungi ceased and the organisms were apparently killed, neither showing regrowth when moved to air. When fungi were allowed to germinate and grow for 48 hours in hexanal-free air, a subsequent 48-hour exposure to 10.3 μmol·L-1 hexanal slowed colony growth relative to controls for several days and a 48-hour exposure to 18.6 μmol·L-1 stopped growth completely. Concentrations of hexanal that inhibited fungal growth on PDA also retarded decay lesion development on `Golden Delicious' and on `Jonagold' apple slices. Hexanal was actively converted to aroma volatiles in `Jonagold' and `Golden Delicious' apple slices, with hexanol and hexylacetate production strongly enhanced after 20 to 30 hours treatment. A small amount of butylhexanoate and hexylhexanoate production was also noted. Within 16 hours after treatment, no hexanal could be detected emanating from treated fruit. Since hexanal was metabolized to aroma-related volatiles by the fruit slices, the possibility of hexanal being an essentially residue-less antifungal agent seems likely. The possibility of developing a system for treating apple slices with hexanal in modified-atmosphere packages was also examined. The permeability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film to hexanal and hexylacetate was, respectively, about 500- and 1000-fold higher than LDPE permeability to O2. The permeability of both compounds increased exponentially with temperature, with hexanal permeability increased 6-fold while hexylacetate increased only 2.5-fold between 0 and 30 °C.

Trends in chlorophyll fluorescence for `Starking Delicious', `Golden Delicious' and `Law Rome' apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) fruit were examined during the harvest season, during refrigerated-air (RA) storage at 0 °C, following RA and controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage, and during a poststorage holding period at 22 °C. Fluorescence parameters of minimal fluorescence (Fo), maximal fluorescence (Fm), and quantum yield [(Fm-Fo)/Fm, otherwise denoted as Fv/Fm] were measured. During `Starking Delicious' fruit maturation and ripening, Fv/Fm declined with time, with the rate of decline increasing after the ethylene climacteric. During RA storage, all fluorescence parameters remained constant for approximately 2 weeks, then steadily declined with time for `Starking Delicious' fruit. Superficial scald was detected after Fv/Fm had declined from an initial value of 0.78 to ≈0.7. Fv/Fm was consistently higher for CA-stored fruits than for RA-stored fruits. We were able to resegregate combined populations of “high-quality” (CA) and “low-quality” (RA) `Law Rome' fruit with 75% accuracy using a threshold Fv/Fm value of 0.685, with only 5% RA-stored fruit incorrectly identified as being of high quality. During a poststorage holding period, Fo, Fm, and Fv/Fm correlated well with firmness for `Starking Delicious', but not for `Golden Delicious' fruit, which were already soft. Fo and Fm were linearly correlated with hue angle for 'Golden Delicious' fruit, decreasing as yellowness increased. The accuracy, speed of assessment, and light-based nature of fluorescence suggests that it may have some practical use as a criterion to assist in sorting apple or other chlorophyll-containing fruit or vegetables on commercial packing lines.

Hexanal vapor inhibited hyphae growth of P. expansum Link. and B. cinerea Pers. on PDA media and on apple slices. After 48 hours exposure to 100 μl·liter–1 hexanal, the hyphae growth of both fungi was ≈ 50% that of nontreated controls. At a concentration of 250 μl·liter–1, neither fungi grew during the treatment period, however, some growth of both fungi occurred 120 hours after treatment. At concentrations of hexanal vapor of ≥450 μl·liter–1, the growth of both fungi ceased, and the organisms were apparently killed, neither showing regrowth when moved to air. When fungi were allowed to germinate and grow for 48 hours in hexanal-free air, a subsequent 48-hour exposure to 250 μl·liter–1 hexanal slowed colony growth relative to controls for several days and a 48-hour exposure to 450 μl·liter–1 stopped growth completely. Concentrations of hexanal that inhibited fungal growth on PDA also retarded decay lesion development on `Golden Delicious' and on `Jonagold' apple slices. Hexanal treatment stimulated aroma volatile production in `Jonagold' and `Golden Delicious' apple slices with hexanol and hexylacetate production strongly enhanced after 20 to 30 hours of treatment. A small amount of butylhexanoate and hexylhexanoate production also was noted. Since hexanal was converted to aroma-related volatiles by the fruit, the possibility of developing a system for nonresiduel antifungal agent is promising. This possibility was examined in modified-atmosphere packages.

This paper describes an open-flower mutant, designated opf, that we discovered in a genetic screen of fast neutron bombardment mutants in an attempt at floral-dip transformation of Melilotus alba (Fabaceae; white sweetclover), an alternative papilionoid legume host for Sinorhizobium meliloti. The opf mutant developed flowers with reflexed sepals and petals, thereby exposing the stamens and carpel, whereas wild-type sweetclover inflorescences developed closed flowers where the young stamens and carpel remain covered during the early stages of flower development. Based on crosses with the wild type, the mutant segregated as a single, Mendelian recessive. Crosses were successful only when the opf mutant served as the female parent, suggesting that the mutant was male sterile. However, no obvious differences from wild-type stamen development were observed in the opf mutant. The anther defect was due to indehiscence. However, as the plants approached the end of their life cycle, the frequency of selfing increased. We also investigated whether the opf mutant could be transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens floral-dip infiltration because open flowers like those of Arabidopsis appear to be more readily transformable. However, similar to wild-type M. alba, the opf mutant is refractory to floral-dip transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

No abstract