Rootstock, K, and N fertilizer effects in a high density orchard on seasonal mineral elements, endogenous ethylene, maturation and storage quality of 'Starkspur Golden Delicious' apples

Leaf and fruit seasonal mineral fluctuations, fruit endogenous ethylene, maturity and quality of 'Starkspur Golden Delicious' apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) on six rootstocks: Seedling, Mailing (M)1, M7, M26, Mailing Merton (MM)106, OAR-1, in a high density orchard with two levels of each of the soil applied potassium (K₂SO₄) and nitrogen (urea) fertilizers were studied in 1980-1982. Leaf concentrations of N, P, and K decreased but Mg and Ca increased, while fruit concentrations of all elements generally decreased as the growing season progressed. Lighter fruit crops resulted in higher concentrations of K in the leaf and lower Ca in the fruit. Scion leaves on OAR-1 rootstock had significantly less Ca than those on M7, MM106 and Ml and less Mg than those on M26. Fruit concentrations of N, K, P, Mg, Fe, and Cu on OAR-1 were lower as a result of a higher percentage of carbohydrates contributing to fruit dry weight. However, B concentrations of both leaf and fruit on OAR-1 were higher than all rootstocks. Rootstock M26 induced significantly more leaf Mg than those on Ml, MM106 and OAR-1 and had lower fruit B concentrations than most of the tested rootstocks. Trees on M7 occasionally showed higher fruit N, K, P, Fe and Cu concentrations than most other rootstocks. Scion fruits on OAR-1 had the lowest content of all minerals (except B) partially due to their smaller size compared to other rootstocks. Higher potassium fertilizer significantly decreased leaf Ca and Mg concentrations while higher nitrogen increased leaf N and Mg and fruit N, but decreased P and K levels in both leaves and fruits. Fruits from trees on OAR-1 produced endogenous and evolved ethylene later but had lighter color and higher soluble solids both at harvest and after storage and were firmer at harvest compared to fruits on other rootstocks. Fruits on MM106 produced low ethylene and had less storage breakdown. Fruits on M7 had lower soluble solids and dry matter than most other rootstocks. Fruits with higher minerals usually had lower soluble solids. Higher nitrogen induced significantly greater evolved ethylene after storage and retained more green color in the fruit

Shelf Life Quality Changes of ´Camarosa´ Strawberry Fruit in Response to Persian and Wild Sage Gums Application

Given the high perishability of strawberry fruit, the edible coating will maintain its postharvest quality. Edible coatings have gained considerable attention due to their ability to extend fruits shelf life. Therefore, in this study two edible coatings were prepared using 0.5 and 1.0% (w/v) of Persian gum and 0.2 and 0.5% (w/v) of wild sage to maintain the shelf-life quality of \u27Camarosa\u27 strawberry fruit during 9 days of storage at 20 °C. It was found that fruit firmness, titrable acidity (TA), total anthocyanin, total carotenoid, protein, vitamin C and total antioxidant activity showed a decreasing trend during 9 days of shelf life, while weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), TSS/TA, total phenolic content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), pectin methylesterase (PME) and polygalacturonase activity (PG) activity significantly increased. Fruits coated with Persian and wild sage gums had higher firmness, TA, total anthocyanin, total carotenoid, protein, vitamin C, total phenolic content, total antioxidant activity, SOD and CAT activity along with lower weight loss and PME and PG activity. The results suggested that Persian and wild sage gums especially at 1.0 and 0.5% (respectively) could be successfully employed to maintaining \u27Camarosa\u27 strawberry quality up to 9 days of shelf life

Shelf Life Quality Changes of ´Camarosa´ Strawberry Fruit in Response to Persian and Wild Sage Gums Application

Given the high perishability of strawberry fruit, the edible coating will maintain its postharvest quality. Edible coatings have gained considerable attention due to their ability to extend fruits shelf life. Therefore, in this study two edible coatings were prepared using 0.5 and 1.0% (w/v) of Persian gum and 0.2 and 0.5% (w/v) of wild sage to maintain the shelf-life quality of \u27Camarosa\u27 strawberry fruit during 9 days of storage at 20 °C. It was found that fruit firmness, titrable acidity (TA), total anthocyanin, total carotenoid, protein, vitamin C and total antioxidant activity showed a decreasing trend during 9 days of shelf life, while weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), TSS/TA, total phenolic content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), pectin methylesterase (PME) and polygalacturonase activity (PG) activity significantly increased. Fruits coated with Persian and wild sage gums had higher firmness, TA, total anthocyanin, total carotenoid, protein, vitamin C, total phenolic content, total antioxidant activity, SOD and CAT activity along with lower weight loss and PME and PG activity. The results suggested that Persian and wild sage gums especially at 1.0 and 0.5% (respectively) could be successfully employed to maintaining \u27Camarosa\u27 strawberry quality up to 9 days of shelf life

Urban Horticulture, from Local Initiatives to Global Success Stories

Urban horticulture describes economically viable horticultural production activities conducted in a city or suburb. It is a growing segment of horticulture in the United States as well as in developing countries, where the enormous growth of megalopolis is not backed by a simultaneous increase of farmland or agricultural productivity. Today, urban horticulture includes food sovereignty in underprivileged neighborhoods, increased availability of vegetables and fruits in big cities, healthy and diverse diets, improved food safety, low transportation costs, efficient resource use, and the mitigation of environmental impacts of horticultural production such as the emission of greenhouse gases. The workshop “Urban horticulture: From local initiatives to global success stories,” held at the 2018 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) conference in Washington, DC, featured present and historical success stories of urban horticulture from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States

Hybrid dissolved-oxygen and temperature sensing: a nanophotonic probe for real-time monitoring of chlorella algae

Dissolved-oxygen concentration and temperature are amongst the crucial parameters required for the precise monitoring of biological and biomedical systems. A novel hybrid nanocomposite probe for real-time and contactless measurement of both dissolved-oxygen concentration and temperature, based on a combination of downconverting phosphorescent molecules of platinum octaethylporphyrin and lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles immobilized in a host of polystyrene, is here introduced. Chlorella algae are employed here as a model to demonstrate the hybrid nanophotonic sensor’s capability to monitor the aforementioned two parameters during the photosynthesis process, since these are among the parameters impacting their production efficiency. These algae have attracted tremendous interest due to their potential to be used for diverse applications such as biofuel production; however, feasibility studies on their economic production are still underway

Recent achievements and new research opportunities for optimizing macronutrient availability, acquisition, and distribution for perennial fruit crops

CITATION: Kalcsits, Lee et al. 2020. Recent achievements and new research opportunities for optimizing macronutrient availability, acquisition, and distribution for perennial fruit crops. Agronomy, 10(11): 1738, doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111738.The original publication is available at: https://www.mdpi.comTree responses to fertilizer management are complex and are influenced by the interactions between the environment, other organisms, and the combined genetics of composite trees. Increased consumer awareness of the environmental impact of agriculture has stimulated research toward increasing nutrient-use efficiency, improving environmental sustainability, and maximizing quality. Here, we highlight recent advancements and identify knowledge gaps in nutrient dynamics across the soil–rhizosphere–tree continuum for fruit crops. Beneficial soil management practices can enhance nutrient uptake and there has been significant progress in the understanding of how roots, microorganisms, and soil interact to enhance nutrient acquisition in the rhizosphere. Characterizing root architecture, in situ, still remains one of the greatest research challenges in perennial fruit research. However, the last decade has advanced the characterization of root nutrient uptake and transport in plants but studies in tree fruit crops have been limited. Calcium, and its balance relative to other macronutrients, has been a primary focus for mineral nutrient research because of its important contributions to the development of physiological disorders. However, annual elemental redistribution makes these interactions complex. The development of new approaches for measuring nutrient movement in soil and plant systems will be critical for achieving sustainable production of high-quality fruit in the future.Publisher's versio

Economic analysis of short-term and long-term effects of exchange rate uncertainty on the export of iranian saffron

In order to get rid of single-product economy, trade of agricultural products is emphasized by the government. As Iran is the biggest producer and exporter of this strategic product in the world, the analysis of factors affecting export of Iran's saffron, can result in better policy making. Accordingly, this study is aim to investigate the short-term and long-term effects of exchange rate volatility beside the other factors affecting the export of this product using panel data for Iran's major trading partners during 1992-2014. For this purpose and to avoid the limitation of symmetric approaches to calculate instability indices, the exchange rate volatility index was firstly calculated by using asymmetric method of Exponential Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (EGHARCH). Then, this index was used along with other variables to estimate of proposed model using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method. The results showed that although countries income and real exchange rate have positive and significant effects on saffron export, exchange rate volatility has a negative and significant effect on export of this product. Therefore, if the government’s goal is to support the export of this product, it is vital to achieve stability in exchange rate market. Moreover, the results of estimating error correction model indicate that the speed of disequilibrium adjustment towards long-run equilibrium relationships is substantial. Therefore, policy-making would be hopeful in the short-term

Network analysis of inflammatory responses to sepsis by neutrophils and peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome causing thousands of deaths yearly worldwide. Sepsis is a result of infection and could lead to systemic inflammatory responses and organ failures. Additionally, blood cells, as the main cells in the immune systems, could be also affected by sepsis. Here, we have used different network analysis approaches, including Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI), and gene regulatory network, to dissect system-level response to sepsis by the main white blood cells. Gene expression profiles of Neutrophils (NTs), Dendritic Cells (DCs), and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) that were exposed to septic plasma were obtained and analyzed using bioinformatics approaches. Individual gene expression matrices and the list of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were prepared and used to construct several networks. Consequently, key regulatory modules and hub genes were detected through network analysis and annotated through ontology analysis extracted from DAVID database. Our results showed that septic plasma affected the regulatory networks in NTs, PBMCs more than the network in DCs. Gene ontology of DEGs revealed that signal transduction and immune cells responses are the most important biological processes affected by sepsis. On the other hand, network analysis detected modules and hub genes in each cell types. It was found that pathways involved in immune cells, signal transduction, and apoptotic processes are among the most affected pathways in the responses to sepsis. Altogether, we have found several hub genes including ADORA3, CD83 CDKN1A, FFAR2, GNAQ, IL1B, LTB, MAPK14, SAMD9L, SOCS1, and STAT1, which might specifically respond to sepsis infection. In conclusion, our results uncovered the system-level responses of the main white blood cells to sepsis and identified several hub genes with potential applications for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes

Adaptation of Deciduous Fruit to the Desert Climate

Chilling requirements and maturity of several varieties of peaches and apples were studied at the University of Arizona, Yuma Mesa Agricultural Center (Southwest Arizona) in 1985-1986. Flordared, Flordabelle, Flordabeauty, Flordagold, Desert Gold and Suwanee peaches broke their dormancy earlier than other cultivars and showed full bloom between mid-to-late January. Suwanee and Desert Gold matured earlier than other tested varieties, but they produced small size fruit with low sugar content. Anna and Dorsett Golden apples showed extended blooming period due to insufficient chilling

Influence of Rootstocks on Yield and Quality of "Redblush" Grapefruit

The influence of 12 different rootstocks on yield and quality of "Redblush" grapefruit was studied for several years. Rootstocks consisted of: macrophylla, volkameriana, rough lemon, Palestine sweet lime, sour orange, Carrizo citrange, taiwanica, Savage citrange, Citrumelo, Ichang pummelo, Troyer citrange and Cleopatra mandarin. Trees on volkameriana, Palestine sweet lime, rough lemon, and sour orange had higher yield than other rootstocks, while trees on Savage citrange had lowest yield. However, soluble solids and acid /sugar ratio were relatively low in the fruits on volkameriana but high in fruit on Savage citrange rootstocks