USE OF SOME FUNGICIDES IN CONTROL OF APPLE SCAB AND STORAGE DISEASES

The paper present an analysis of the biological efficacy of some new experimented during 2008-2011 at RIFG Pitesti, in order to protect the stored apples against apple scab, brown rot and other damaging storage diseases. During the experiment, 11 fungicides, including 9 single active ingredients and 2 new actives mixes, were tested by preventive treatments applied in the orchards on 4 winter apple cultivars ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Idared’, ‘Nured Jonathan’ and ‘Starkrimson’. The biological material was stored in the cold warehouse then assessed under lab conditions. The results obtained revealed that in control of brown rot, the best results were obtained with: Chorus 75 WDG - 0.3 kg/ha/treatment, Rovral 500 SC - 1.5L/ha/treatment, Switch 62.5 - 1kg/ha/treatment and Bellis 38 WG 0.8 kg/ha/treatment (F%: 0.75%; 0.25; 0%; 0%). As regard the control of apple scab, under storage conditions, the finest results were obtained with: Chorus 75 WDG - 0.3 kg/ha/treatment, Mystic Extra 0.75L/ha/treatment, Topsin M70 1kg/ha/treatment, Score 250 EC 0,2L/ha/treatment, Indar 5 EW 1,2 kg/ha/treatment, Toledo 430 SC 0.45L/ha/tratment, Folicur Solo 0.75L/ha/treatment (F%: 0%; 0.36%; 0.75%; 1.37%; 1.75%; 2.01%; 2.25%; 3.75%). Also, the treatments applied in 2011 with Bellis 38 WG 0.8 kg/ha and Switch 62.5 - 1kg/ha/treatment protected very well the stored apples against the apple scab and 4 other specific storage diseases (F%: 0)

A New Strategy to Improve Vineyard Resilience: Grapevine Morphological Adaptation to Short-Term Nitrogen Deficiency

Nitrogen (N) deficiency causes a morphological disequilibrium between shoots and roots, favoring hypogeal growth. Our hypothesis is that short-term nitrogen deficiency could induce an increase in vine resilience, inducing root growth before the appearance of significant dysfunctions in the epigeal part of the plant. Then, nitrogen availability could be promptly restored through a well-thought-out fertilization plan. In this experiment, two table grape cultivars grafted onto three different rootstocks were studied in three hydroponic growing conditions characterized by different nitrogen availability. After 53 days of treatment, plant morphologies were described, and leaf photosynthetic pigments were quantified. The short-term nitrogen deficiency induced root growth, leading to significantly different proportions among the hypogeal and the epigeal parts, despite no significant differences were recorded concerning shoot growth. Some small differences in the leaf pigmentations indicated an incipient symptom of nitrogen deficiency, and significant differences in the phytomer morphology indicated the possibility of developing low-cost indices for prompt identification of incipient symptoms. This will allow the exploitation of the advantages of short-term nitrogen deficiency while avoiding negative effects on shoot growth by promptly restoring the nitrogen availability

Romanian Journal of Horticulture

The ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE (RJH) is an international scientific journal. RJH is Open Access Journal published by the Horticulture Section of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences – “Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti”. RJH is an annual journal aimed at disseminating significant research and original papers on horticulture field. An international Editorial Board advises the journal. Each paper published in ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE is assigned a DOI number and the content have been entirely published in English. DOI number of the journal is: DOI: 10.51258/RJH RJH can be identified with the following ISSN identification codes: ISSN-L 2734 – 7656 On line ISSN 2734 – 8083 Print ISSN 2734 – 7656 CD-ROM ISSN 2734 – 766

Effect of Metaxenia on the Fruit Quality of Scab Resistant Apple Varieties

AbstractFruit quality of apples is influenced by the metaxenic pollen effect of the pollinators. At RIFG Pitesti, the flowers of two scab resistant cultivars (’Topaz’ and ‘Dalinette’) were hand pollinated with other apple cultivars: one scab resistant (’Priam’) and two scab susceptible (’Golden Delicious’ and ‘Idared’). Morphological parameters of fruit (diameter, weight, seed number, skin colour) and quality parameters (firmness, refraction) was investigated at the harvesting time in the Genetic and Breeding Department in order to prove the metaxenic effect. ‘Topaz’ fruits obtained from pollination with ‘Priam’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ were recorded good size parameters (diameter, weight) and flesh quality (firmness and refraction). In case of ‘Dalinette’ fruits, among cultivars used as pollinator, ‘Idared’ caused the biggest fruits with flesh firmness

EVALUATION OF SOME PLUM CULTIVARS IN A HIGH DENSITY SYSTEM

Three plum cultivars bred in Romania (‘Carpatin’, ‘Centenar’ and ‘Tita’) were tested together with several standards (‘Cacanska Rodna’ and ‘Stanley’) in a high density experimental orchard established at Pitesti - Maracineni in the spring of 2009, with spacing 4 x 2.25 m. Trees were trained as spindles, grafted on ‘Saint Julian’ rootstock. In the orchard the following characteristics were evaluated: tree vigour based upon measuring of trunk-diameter, yields in kg/tree, time of fruit ripening and basic parameters of fruit quality. All Romanian varieties were characterized by earliness and large fruit, but production was relatively small. Instead, foreign varieties were characterized by high productivity in the 4th year after planting

STUDIES ON THE EVOLUTION OF APPLE FRUITS QUALITY DURING THE PRESERVATION PERIOD IN COLD STORAGE FACILITIES

The apple fruits harvest maturity is very brief and does not coincide with the consumption maturity. The process of ripening continues after fruit harvesting, and the consumption maturity is achieved earlier or later in the storage period. Present paper highlights the evolution of some apples characteristics (penetration resistance, chlorophyll fluorescence), in the storage period,the characteristics that define the quality fruits consumption. The study was carried out at the Research Institute for Fruit Growing Pitesti-Maracineni where the fruits of two apples varieties ('Dalinred', and 'Goldrush') that have been harvested in October and stored in cold storage. After four months of storage (January) and after five months of storage (February), determinations of penetration resistance and chlorophyll fluorescence were carried out. The results obtained have shown that penetration resistance of the 'Goldrush' fruits variety in January had higher values than penetration resistance of the 'Dalinred' fruits variety and the values of resistance decrease with increasing storage period. Regarding chlorophyll fluorescence, the values have the same tendency as well as those of penetration resistance, a small decreasing of values, with the increasing storage period. Both, the penetration resistance values as well as the chlorophyll fluorescence values, proved a good duration for maintaining fruit quality, and the decreasing values in the two periods of determination (January and February), was insignificant

Bioactive Phytochemical Composition of Grape Pomace Resulted from Different White and Red Grape Cultivars

Grapes are rich in phenolic compounds, being important for human health with anti-inflammatory, antiatherosclerotic, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial activity. The winemaking of the grapes generates significant amounts of waste. These wastes contain bioactive compounds in their biomass that can be used as a source of food improvement or as a source of nutrition supplementation. This study looks at the content of bioactive compounds, the polyphenolic profile, and the antioxidant activity in different white and red grape pomaces. The investigation of bioactive characteristics (total polyphenols, total flavonoids, catechins, tannins, and antioxidant activity) was carried out by UV-Vis spectrophotometric methods, while the individual polyphenolic composition was investigated by target and screening UHPLC-HRMS/MS analysis. Principal components (PCA) and the heat maps analysis allows the discrimination between the grape pomace resulted from white grape cultivars (Muscat Ottonel and Tamaioasa Romaneasca) and red grape pomaces (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Feteasca Neagra, Burgund Mare, Pinot Nore), with the identification of the specific phenolic compounds for each grape pomace type

Assessment of Bioactive Phenolic Compounds in Musts and the Corresponding Wines of White and Red Grape Varieties

Wine contains important amounts of antioxidants, which contribute to the protection of the body from oxidative stress and associated diseases. This study aims to characterize the bioactive characteristics and individual polyphenolic composition of different white and red musts and the corresponding wines obtained at Stefanesti vineyard, Romania, and to observe the evolution of the main phenolic compounds from the musts to the corresponding wines. General bioactive characteristics (total polyphenols, total tannins, total catechins, total anthocyanins contents, total tannin, and antioxidant activity) were determined using UV-Vis spectrometric methods, while phenolic composition (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and stilbenes) was detected using UHPLC–HRMS analysis. The fermentation and stabilization processes that occur during the transformation of musts into the corresponding wines lead to a decrease in the general bioactive characteristics from musts to wines, while the fermentation of the musts leads to an enrichment of the individual phenolic compounds in the corresponding wines, with a significant increase in the content of gallic, syringic, and p-coumaric acids in the wines compared with the musts. A clear distinction of the musts and wines was obtained for both white and red varieties, indicating different phenolic compositions of the musts and wines. The obtained results contribute to the characterization of the polyphenolic fingerprint of the investigated white and red musts and wines

Overview of the Success of In Vitro Culture for Ex Situ Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Endemic and Subendemic Native Plants of Romania

Romania has a relatively high diversity of plant species, including 3829 vascular and 979 non-vascular spontaneous plant taxa (species and subspecies). Due to uncontrolled harvesting as well as other causes, including climate change and ecological collapse, the speed of species extinction and the narrowing of the genetic base of plant resources has been reported as a critical issue. Therefore, the national Red List of Romanian flora includes 1453 threatened taxa, of which 95 are endemic and 90 subendemic. Many of these have high ornamental, medicinal–cosmetic, and/or aromatic properties. The high extinction risk of these valuable plants has stimulated both the reconsideration of their vital importance as genetic resources and interest in finding effective methods for conservation. Cultivating these phytogenetic resources in a human-controlled environment is of high importance for effective ex situ conservation, which can further serve sustainable exploitation needs and may facilitate in situ conservation actions. In vitro culture is a powerful tool for producing elite plants for cultivation for different purposes. This review summarizes the current knowledge on in vitro multiplication of 22 endemic and subendemic native plants of Romania, examining the materials used, the treatments applied, and the results obtained in each stage of the micropropagation protocol (culture initiation, proliferation, rooting, and acclimatization). The findings from the reviewed studies are presented in a comparative way, and the potential of plant tissue culture in conservation and sustainable exploitation of these Romanian species is outlined