Fruit quality and volatile fraction of ‘Pink Lady’ apple trees in response to rootstock vigor and partial rootzone drying

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Partial rootzone drying (PRD) is a novel deficit irrigation technique consisting in the alternated wetting of only one side of the rootzone, which induces partial stomatal closure and increased water use efficiency. The effect of PRD and rootstock vigor on 'Pink Lady' apple fruit quality and aroma profile was studied using solid-phase micro-extraction in headspace and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Fruit physical, chemical and aromatic attributes of early, intermediate and late apricot cultivars

“…The volatile fraction was analysed by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), modifying our protocol developed for peach34 and apple35 and using 0.5 g of finely ground flesh and peel tissues from the same fruit. Among the four fibres tested in preliminary trials, the divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane SPME fibre (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) proved to be the best according to the Function (F) of sum extracted analytes (i) by fiber coating (j) criterion function 36, 37.…”

“…Separation was performed by GC/MS using a Varian Saturn‐3 ion trap system (Varian Inc.) and a 30 m long, 0.25 mm inner diameter fused silica Supelcowax‐10 column (Supelco) as described by Lo Bianco et al 35…”

Influence of rootstock on drought response in young ‘Gale Gala’ apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees

“…Increasingly serious water deficit in those areas is one of the major limitations to apple cultivation, and thus the capacity of plants to withstand drought stress is of great economic importance. Grafting elite and commercial cultivars onto rootstocks capable of reducing the effect of water stress on the shoot is considered to be a promising tool to reduce water losses in production, to enhance drought resistance and to improve water use efficiency (WUE) under drought conditions 14. Previous studies of the effects of Malus rootstock on growth, yield and fruit quality of commercial apple cultivars were mainly focused on clonal rootstocks 14–19.…”

“…Grafting elite and commercial cultivars onto rootstocks capable of reducing the effect of water stress on the shoot is considered to be a promising tool to reduce water losses in production, to enhance drought resistance and to improve water use efficiency (WUE) under drought conditions 14. Previous studies of the effects of Malus rootstock on growth, yield and fruit quality of commercial apple cultivars were mainly focused on clonal rootstocks 14–19. There are many different types of rootstocks being used for apple cultivation in China, and each one has a particular set of advantages and limitations for adaptation to different geographical regions.…”

Effect of controlled atmospheres and shelf life period on concentrations of volatile substances released by ‘Pink Lady®’ apples and on consumer acceptance

“…A total of 39 aroma volatile compounds were quantified in freshly harvested fruit: 30 esters (eight acetates, seven propanoates, eight butanoates, six hexanoates and one octanoate), seven alcohols, one terpene and one ketone (Table 1). The main volatile compound emitted during shelf life at 20 °C (20.4% and 25.4% after 1 and 7 days, respectively) was hexyl acetate, which was subsequently predominant in the aroma profile of ‘Pink Lady ® ’ apples5, 23 and conferred a fruity odour (Table 1). The next most important esters, in quantitative terms, were hexyl 2‐methylbutanoate, 2‐methylbutyl acetate, hexyl hexanoate, butyl acetate, hexyl butanoate, hexyl propanoate, butyl hexanoate and butyl 2‐methylbutanoate.…”