Strawberries: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy

Strawberries are a seasonal delight in California and they add a healthy component to a well-balanced diet. Learn how to get the most out of the strawberries you buy at market or from a You-Pick farm or grow in your own garden. Includes recipes for Strawberry Jelly, Strawberry Freezer Jam, and Strawberry-Kiwi Freezer Jam

Validation and demonstration of a pericarp disc system for studying blossom-end rot of tomatoes

BackgroundBlossom-end rot in tomatoes is often used as a model system to study fruit calcium deficiency. The study of blossom-end rot development in tomatoes has been greatly impeded by the difficulty of directly studying and applying treatments to the affected cells. This manuscript presents a novel method for studying blossom-end rot development after harvest in immature whole fruit and in pericarp discs.ResultsPericarp discs removed from the bottom pericarp of immature healthy fruit developed blossom-end rot like symptoms, corresponding to a decrease in L* value and an increase in a* value. Symptoms also developed in columella tissue, but not in stem-end pericarp tissue, similar to patterns observed during blossom-end rot development on the plant. Ascorbate oxidase and peroxidase activity, which are elevated in blossom-end rot affected fruit compared to healthy fruit, were both correlated with colorimetric measures of tissue darkening in discs. Respiration rate was higher in discs that later developed blossom-end rot symptoms, with increased respiration in asymptomatic discs on day 1 of storage being associated with symptom development on day 2. Calcium chloride and ascorbic acid treatments inhibited symptom development, demonstrating the potential of this method to provide causal evidence.ConclusionsResults indicate that symptom development in this system is consistent with blossom-end rot development with regards to location, color change, and the activity of key enzymes. This system has the potential to be used to elucidate the cause of fruit calcium deficiency and improve knowledge of the biological basis for calcium's diverse effects on fruit

Apples: Safe Methods to Store, Preserve, and Enjoy

Apples are generally abundant and inexpensive, and they add a healthy component to a well-balanced diet. Learn how to get the most out of the apples you buy at market or from a U-Pick farm or grow in your own garden. Contains detailed instructions for freezing, drying and canning, including recipes for Applesauce, Apple Butter, Apple Chutney, and Sweet Apple Relish

Chilling temperatures and controlled atmospheres alter key volatile compounds implicated in basil aroma and flavor.

Use of basil in its fresh form is increasingly popular due to its unique aromatic and sensory properties. However, fresh basil has a short shelf life and high chilling sensitivity resulting in leaf browning and loss of characteristic aroma. Moderate CO2 atmospheres have shown potential in alleviating symptoms of chilling injury in basil during short-term storage but its effect on the flavor volatiles is unclear. Moreover, studies on basil volatile profile as impacted by chilling temperatures are limited. We investigated the response of two basil genotypes to low temperatures and atmosphere modification, with emphasis on the volatile organic compounds responsible for basil aroma and flavor. Leaves were stored for 6 days at 5, 10, or 15°C combined with three different CO2 atmospheres (0.04%, 5% or 10%). Basil volatile profile was assessed using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Leaves suffered severe chilling injury and greater loss of aroma volatiles at 5°C compared to 10°C and 15°C. More than 70 volatiles were identified for each genotype, while supervised multivariate analysis revealed 26 and 10 differentially-accumulated volatiles for 'Genovese' and 'Lemon' basil, respectively, stored at different temperatures. Storage in 5% CO2 ameliorated the symptoms of chilling injury for up to 3 days in 'Genovese', but not in 'Lemon' basil. Both chilling temperatures and controlled atmospheres altered key volatile compounds implicated in basil aroma and flavor, but temperature had a bigger influence on the observed changes in volatile profile

Metabolic response of Platynota stultana pupae during and after extended exposure to elevated CO2 and reduced O2 atmospheres

Abstract The metabolic responses of Platynota stultana pupae to reduced O 2 , elevated CO 2 , and their combinations were investigated using microcalorimetry, and mortality of pupae under elevated CO 2 atmospheres was correlated with metabolic responses. The metabolic heat rate decreased slightly with decreasing O 2 concentration until a critical O 2 concentration (P c ) below which the heat rate decreased rapidly. The P c increased with temperature. The percentage decreases of metabolic heat rate were comparable to the percentage decreases of O 2 consumption rate (RO 2 ) at 10, 8, 6, and 4% O 2 , but were smaller at 2 and 1% O 2 . The metabolic heat rate decreased rapidly at 20% CO 2 relative to 0% CO 2 , with little to no further decrease between 20 and 79% CO 2 . The percentage decreases of RO 2 under 20 and 79% CO 2 at 20°C were comparable to the percentage decreases of metabolic heat rates. The additive effects of subatmospheric O 2 and elevated CO 2 levels on reducing metabolic heat rate were generally fully realized at combinations of Յ5% CO 2 and Ն4% O 2 , but became increasingly overlapped as the O 2 concentration decreased and the CO 2 concentration increased. The high susceptibility of pupae to elevated CO 2 at high temperature was correlated with high metabolic heat rate. The metabolic responses of pupae to reduced O 2 concentrations included metabolic arrest and anaerobic metabolism. The net effect of elevated CO 2 on the pupal respiratory metabolism was similar to that of reduced O 2 ; however, mechanisms other than the decrease of metabolism were also contributing to the toxicity of CO 2

‘Bartlett’ pear fruit ( Pyrus communis L.) ripening regulation by low temperatures involves genes associated with jasmonic acid, cold response, and transcription factors

Low temperature (LT) treatments enhance ethylene production and ripening rate in the European pear (Pyrus communis L.). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. This study aims to identify genes responsible for ripening enhancement by LT. To this end, the transcriptome of ‘Bartlett’ pears treated with LT (0 °C or 10 °C for up to 14 d), which results in faster ripening, and control pears without conditioning treatment was analyzed. LT conditioned pears reached eating firmness (18 N) in 6 d while control pears took about 12 d when left to ripen at 20 °C. We identified 8,536 differentially expressed (DE) genes between the 0 °C-treated and control fruit, and 7,938 DE genes between the 10 °C-treated and control fruit. In an attempt to differentiate temperature-induced vs. ethylene-responsive pathways, we also monitored gene expression in fruit sequentially treated with 1-MCP then exposed to low temperature. This analysis revealed that genes associated with jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling, as well as the transcription factors TCP9a, TCP9b, CBF1, CBF4, AGL24, MYB1R1, and HsfB2b could be involved in the LT-mediated enhancement of ripening independently or upstream of ethylene

‘Bartlett’ pear fruit ( Pyrus communis L.) ripening regulation by low temperatures involves genes associated with jasmonic acid, cold response, and transcription factors

Low temperature (LT) treatments enhance ethylene production and ripening rate in the European pear (Pyrus communis L.). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. This study aims to identify genes responsible for ripening enhancement by LT. To this end, the transcriptome of ‘Bartlett’ pears treated with LT (0 °C or 10 °C for up to 14 d), which results in faster ripening, and control pears without conditioning treatment was analyzed. LT conditioned pears reached eating firmness (18 N) in 6 d while control pears took about 12 d when left to ripen at 20 °C. We identified 8,536 differentially expressed (DE) genes between the 0 °C-treated and control fruit, and 7,938 DE genes between the 10 °C-treated and control fruit. In an attempt to differentiate temperature-induced vs. ethylene-responsive pathways, we also monitored gene expression in fruit sequentially treated with 1-MCP then exposed to low temperature. This analysis revealed that genes associated with jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling, as well as the transcription factors TCP9a, TCP9b, CBF1, CBF4, AGL24, MYB1R1, and HsfB2b could be involved in the LT-mediated enhancement of ripening independently or upstream of ethylene