REACTION OF SOME WALNUT GENOTYPES GROWN IN VÂLCEA AREA AT GNOMONIA LEPTOSTYLA CES. ET DE NOT PATHOGEN ATTACK

The studies were conducted at the Research Fruit  Growing the Station of Valcea, under the climatic conditions of the year 2015 and focused response of walnut cultivars and selections with different origins to the attack the of  Gnomonia leptostyla Ces.et de Not factor causative of the disease called "brown staining of leaves" or "walnut anthracnose." Field observations were carried out at moments of maximum vulnerability to the disease (June and September) and followed up on the attack on leaves and fruits per genotype under natural infection. At the two moments of observation,  it was noted the frequency (F%) and the intensity (I%) of the pathogen attack based on which a was the calculated degree of attack (GA%), the values thereof reflecting the reaction of the cultivars to the attack of the pathogen

BEHAVIOUR OF SOME WALNUT, HAZELNUT AND SWEET CHESTNUT CULTIVARS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FROM SOUTH OF ROMANIA

The nut crops are important for their valuable fruits and for their potential to increase the economic growth of Romania. The Southern part of Romania which includes the regions of Oltenia and Muntenia is known for its favourable conditions for fruit growing and in particular for nut crops like walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut. During the last two decades at University of Craiova - SCDP Vâlcea several cultivars trials were set up in order to compare the Romanian and foreign cultivars and to establish the most favourable ones for culture in this part of the country. This study presents the behaviour of 19 walnut cultivars (9 Romanian ones and 10 of foreignorigin), 19 hazelnut cultivars (8 Romanian and 11 foreign ones) and 11 cultivars and hybrids of sweet chestnut (3 Romanian and 8 of foreign origin). Due to the results obtained several cultivars of walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut are recommended to be propagated and planted into the orchards from southern part of Romania

Determination of Apomictic Fruit Set Ratio in Several Romanian Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Cultivars

carried out to determine the ability of apomictic fruit setting in twelve Romanian walnut cultivars. ‘Sibisel 44’, ‘Geoagiu 65’, ‘Germisara’, ‘Muscelean’, ‘Sarmis’, ‘Valcor’, ‘Valmit’, ‘Valrex’, ‘Jupanesti’, ‘Velnita’, ‘Orastie’ and ‘Argesean’ cultivars were used in the experiment. Female flowers were isolated with pergament paper bags and the apomictic fruit set was determined 8 weeks after anthesis. The apomixis degree was determined as the number of fruit calculated in relation to the number of isolated flowers. The percentage of apomictic fruit set without pollination in cultivars analyzed is low, ranging from 7.86% (‘Orastie’ cultivar) up to 12.46% (‘Jupanesti’ cultivar). The results indicated that apomictic fruit set is insufficient for economical seed and crop production in these Romanian walnut cultivars

INFLUENCE OF COLCHICINE TREATMENTS ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF THE OKRA SEEDLINGS

The effect of the treatments with colchicine determines the doubling of the number of chromosomes, but can also induce mutations being often used in breeding works to induce variability. Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench (syn. Hibiscus esculentus L.) is an economically important vegetable plant grown in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate areas with a warmer climate for multiple nutritional and medicinal properties. In the present paper, 0.1% colchicine treatments were performed on the okra seeds. Five variants with different exposure times were experimented and observations were made after seven days on the length and thickness of the roots and the hypocotyl. The treatment with colchicine induced the modification of the morphological characters, resulting in seedlings with short and thickened roots and hypocotyls. The maximum effect was recorded in variant no. 5 with 2 hours exposure

The Current Status of Germplum Database: a Tool for Characterization of Plum Genetic Resources in Romania

In Romania, Prunus genetic resources are kept in collections of varieties, populations and biotypes, mainly located in research and development institutes or fruit growing stations and, in the last years, by some private enterprises. Creating the experimental model for the Germplum database based on phenotypic descriptors and SSR molecular markers analysis is an important and topical objective for the efficient characterization of genetic resources and also for establishing a public-private partnership for the effective management of plum germplasm resources in Romania. The technical development of the Germplum database was completed and data will be added continuously after characterizing each new accession

The Mineral Source for Human Nutrition of Nuts in Different Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Cultivars

  Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) have a significant place among the types of dried nuts in terms of nutrition and health owing to their special composition of fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers and phenolic antioxidants. Different hazelnut cultivars grown in Romania (‘Cozia’, ‘Romavel’, ‘Valcea 22’, ‘Roverd’ and ‘Red Lambert’) were evaluated for their mineral composition. Microelements were determined by using ICP-MS and a Flame AAS. The average microelements concentrations in the cultivars have varied in the following ranges (mg 100 g-1): K, 591.75 - 639.13; P, 300.67 - 455.06; Mg, 205.02 - 335.54; Ca, 72.07 - 130.92; Mn, 8.77 - 19.07; Fe, 5.3 - 8.77; Cu, 1.62 - 3.07; Zn, 1.82 - 2.84; Cr, 0.12 - 0.84; Na, 0.36 - 0.97; Al, 0.23 - 0.35; Sr, 0.88 - 1.6; Rb,1.34 - 3.03. According to the daily microelement requirements, the quantity of 100 g hazelnut provided approximately 13% for K, 55% for P, 70% for Mg, 10% for Ca, 94% for Fe, 22 for Zn and 5.6% for Cr of the RDA. These results indicated that hazelnuts are a rich source of a number of important micro-elements and hazelnut can be an important source of microelements for human nutrition and health.</p

Evaluation of Productivity Components and Antioxidant Activity of Different Types of Garlic Depending on the Morphological Organs

This study evaluated the elements of production, the content of bioactive compounds, and the antioxidant activity of some types of garlic: softneck—Allium sativum L. var. sativum, Rocambole—A. sativum var. ophioscorodon (Link) Döll, and chives—A. schoenoprasum L. The mean yields and the distribution of bioactive compounds in the bulb, in the cloves of the bulb, as well as in the bulbils formed in the inflorescence, were determined. The average production/ha in the case of chives highlighted a yield of 27.83 t ha−1 of mature bulbs. All these were determined to obtain a better understanding of the biological functionality of the different morphological parts of this species. The content of vitamin C and flavonoids was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in Rocambole than in the other varieties. The phenolic compounds were higher in the case of chives, followed by Rocambole and then by softneck garlic. The content of bioactive compounds was higher in the younger organ, depending on the morphological organ (bulbs, cloves, and bulbils on flower stalks) within the same variety. The vitamin C content was higher in the cloves (15.68 mg 100 g−1), followed by the bulbils in inflorescence (14.64 mg 100 g−1), and the mature bulb (13.14 mg 100 g−1) in Rocambole. The bioactive profile of garlic depends on the age of the morphological organ, and the bioactive concentration decreases with its maturity. Therefore, unripe garlic has the best potential to be used for its health benefits. The versatile health effects and nutraceutical properties of garlic can be attributed to the variety of bioactive compounds, mainly polyphenolic substances with strong antioxidant properties, as well as the morphological organ (mature bulb with cloves, a one year bulb derived from bulbil, or bulbil in bloom)

Physical and Chemical Properties of Some European Plum Cultivars (<i>Prunus domestica</i> L.)

Fruits from twelve plum cultivars (Prunus domestica L.), were analyzed in terms of physical and chemical characteristics. The fruits trees were grown in a trial at University of Craiova - Fruit Growing Research Station (SCDP) Valcea, which is located in Bujoreni, an important Romanian plum production area. Fruits were picked at harvest maturity. Several analyzes were performed, such as fruit linear dimensions, size index, fruit weight, dry matter, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, total anthocyanins, malic, tartaric and citric acids content. The best features in terms of physical and chemical properties proved to be found in ‘Alina’, ‘Alutus’, ‘Tuleu Timpuriu’, ‘Oltenal’ and ‘Renclod Althan’

Mineral Composition of Fruits in Different Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Cultivars

Walnuts are considered to be a good source of dietary minerals. Mineral composition was determined in nine walnut cultivars(‘Mihaela’, ‘Roxana’, ‘Velnita’, ‘Geoagiu 65’, ‘Jupanesti’, ‘Valcor’, ‘Valmit’, ‘Valrex’, ‘Argesan’) originated from Romania. A Milestone digestionmicrowave system was used for mineralization of solid samples. Microelements: Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Se, Al, Cr, Zn, Sr and Rb weredetermined by using ICP-MS as measurement tool, and K content was determined with an atomic absorption spectrometer in flame,by using as excitation source the cavitar cathode lamp for potassium. Mineral elements content presented significant differences from acultivar to another. Potassium content has varied between 357.1 mg/100g in ‘Valmit‘ cultivar, and 499.6 mg/100g, in ‘Geoagiu 65’ cultivar, recording significant differences from the average (414.0 mg/100g) in ‘Velnita‘, ‘Roxana‘and ‘Argesan‘cultivars. Magnesium content variedbetween 189.2 mg/100 g in ‘Mihaela’ cultivar and 278.1 mg/100 g in ‘Argesan’ cultivar, significant differences from the average (216.6mg/100g) were obtained in cultivars ‘Geoagiu 65‘, ‘Valrex‘, ‘Argesan‘. The order of nutritive elements depending on their content/100g of produce was K&gt;Mg&gt;Ca&gt;Mn&gt;Fe&gt; Cu&gt;Zn&gt;Na&gt;Cr&gt;Al&gt;Rb&gt;Sr. Comparing obtained data with the ones existing in the literature,Romanian walnut cultivars proved to be important sources of nutritive elements, and walnut kernel consumption can contribute to a wellbalanced diet

Phytochemical and Nutritional Profile Composition in Fruits of Different Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) Cultivars Grown in Romania

Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), a valuable fruit crop, is cultivated in small areas in Romania, mostly in the west, where the moderate continental climate has a slight Mediterranean influence. This work aims to investigate the bioactive characteristics (total polyphenols, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity), individual polyphenolic composition, phytochemical and nutritional HRMS screening profiles, sugar and mineral composition of six sweet chestnut cultivars, namely &lsquo;Marsol&rsquo;, &lsquo;Maraval&rsquo;, &lsquo;Bournette&rsquo;, &lsquo;Pr&eacute;coce Migoule&rsquo; and &lsquo;Marissard&rsquo; grown at Fruit Growing Research&mdash;Extension Station (SCDP) V&acirc;lcea, in Northern Oltenia, Romania. Fruit samples were collected in two consecutive years, in order to study the impact of genetic variability between cultivars and the influence of the different climatic conditions corresponding to different cultivation years. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) allow the discrimination between the sweet chestnut fruits harvested in different years and different sweet chestnut cultivars. Analytical investigations revealed that sweet chestnut cultivars grown in Romania show similar bioactive, phytochemical and nutritional composition to cultivars grown in the large European chestnut-producing countries, indicating the high adaptation potential of the chestnut in the temperate continental zone with small Mediterranean influences characteristic of the southwestern area of Romania