Genetic assessment of the pomological classification of plum Prunus domestica L. accessions sampled across Europe

The genotyping of European fruit tree collections has helped to identify synonyms, determine parentage, reveal key specimens in the collections and provide information on the development of modern cultivars from one or several progenitors. However, studies on European plum Prunus domestica have been lagging behind, mainly because of the hexaploid chromosome number. In this co-operative study, 104 accessions conserved by 14 partners across Europe were phenotyped for 20 descriptors, and genotyped for 8 SSR loci together with 8 reference cultivars. Based on the descriptors as well as additional information supplied by the partners, as well as the scientific and horticultural literature, each accession was assigned to one of six pomological groups; (1) egg plums sensu lato (E), (2) prunes of the French d’Agen type (P/A), (3) prunes of the Central-Southeast European Zwetschen type (P/Z), (4) greengages (G), (5) mirabelles (M) and (6) bullaces, damsons and var. pomariorum (D/B). A MANOVA conducted on descriptor data revealed significant differentiation among the pomological groups as well as a geographic impact on the differentiation of local plum accessions in Europe. SSR data showed that two trios and seven pairs of genotypes had very similar allele profiles and possibly are genetically identical in spite of different accession names. An AMOVA indicated sparse genetic differentiation when accessions were grouped according to geographic origin whereas significant differences were obtained among pomological groups. A Bayesian analysis of genetic structure, as well as a discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC), further revealed levels of similarity among and within the different pomological groups, suggesting that egg plums sensu lato (E) and greengages (G) can be referred to subsp. domestica while damsons and bullaces (D/B) but also Central-Southeast European prunes (P/Z) show more affinity to subsp. insititia. The small and possibly heterogeneous groups with mirabelles (M) and prunes of the d’Agen type (P/A) take an intermediate position suggesting a hybridogenic origin

Genetic improvement of apples at the faculty of agriculture - Novi Sad

The project on the genetic improvement of apples at the Faculty of Agriculture, Novi Sad, started in 1987 and is covering many different aspects of the conventional apple breeding. Selection for fruit quality, yield, and storage potential resulted in a selection in a variety trial. The fruit has outstanding appearance thanks to its red overcolour, beautiful conical shape, excellent storage ability, and long shelf life, although its picking time is the end of August. The activities to breed columnar apple varieties have been aimed at producing apple cultivars suitable for very intensive orchards and amateur gardens as easily-managed apple tree varieties of different time of picking, bearing fruits of yellow and green ground colour with no overcolour and of yellow ground colour with red overcolour. In 2007, six new apple varieties were introduced: 'Djerdan' (yellow fruit), 'Smaragd', and 'Zeleni Dragulj' (green fruits), 'Vesna', 'Rumeno Vreteno', and 'Kraljica Èardaša' (red over-coloured). A great deal of attention has been paid to breeding for resistance against diseases and pests. The main donors of resistance were autochthonous apple varieties like 'Krstovaèa', 'Šumatovka', and 'Bihorka'. Two red overcoloured selections with the late picking time were submitted to variety trials. Mutations affecting the appearance of the fruit were recognized on 'Elstar', resulting in two selections in a variety trial, and 'Idared', resulting in one selection in a variety trial. The mutation type most often found was striped and bright-red overcolour

Genetic variability of bottle gourd Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley and its morphological characterization by multivariate analysis

A wide range of bottle gourd Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standley germplasm was collected from different parts of the world. Genetic resource preservation and determination of genetic variability was carried out as a foundation for future breeding work. The germplasm diversity collected in Serbia is a result of its adaptation to diverse ecological conditions and farmers’ selection in accordance with their preference and ethnobotanical utilization. The broad intraspecific variation of the plant, fruit and seed morphology is a direct result of the research carried out. Principal component analysis (PCA) of L. siceraria with 13 quantitative traits showed continuous variation among accessions, primarily due to fruit and seed size and shape. The evident reduction in trait variation is a direct result of the preference for ornamental use that favored certain shapes and sizes of the fruit, which has not significantly changed over the centuries

Early performance of four sweet cherry cultivars grafted on Gisela 5 and Colt rootstocks in a high density growing system

Growing the sweet cherry on different vigor rootstocks, such as Colt and Gisela 5, in a high-density orchard, causes differences in growth and productivity and later imposes the need to change the growing system including pruning, flower and fruit thinning, irrigation and fertilization. In the present research, four sweet cherry cultivars (Summit, Kordia, Lapins and Regina) grafted on Colt and Gisela 5 rootstocks were assessed for morphological traits and productivity. The parameters investigated were: vegetative growth, bearing potential, fruit set, precocity, productivity, fruit growth habit and quality attributes. Compared to Colt, the trees on Gisela 5 had smaller TCSA and the length of two-year-old branches, in the fifth season after planting. Trees on Gisela 5 had a higher number of flower buds per may bouquet compared to Colt, which confirms that bearing potential is highly affected by the rootstock. Growing the sweet cherries on Gisela 5 induced a higher fruit setting in all cultivars except in Kordia. Fruit physical attributes were affected by the cultivar, growing system and experimental year. For all tested cultivars, the yield per tree was significantly lower on Colt compared to Gisela 5. Gisela 5 performed better than Colt, which suggests that Gisela 5 should be used as a rootstock in high density sweet cherry production systems

Analysis and characterisation of phytochemicals in mulberry (Morus alba L.) fruits grown in Vojvodina, North Serbia

In this study, the polyphenolic profile of 11 Morus alba fruits grown in the Vojvodina region was investigated. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with Linear Trap Quadrupole and OrbiTrap mass analyzer, and UHPLC coupled with a diode array detector and a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer were used for the identification and quantification of the polyphenols, respectively. A total of 14 hydroxycinnamic acid esters, 13 flavonol glycosides, and 14 anthocyanins were identified, in the extracts with different distributions and contents according to the sampling. The total phenolic content ranged from 43.84 to 326.29 mg GAE/100 g frozen fruit. The radical scavenging capacity (50.18-86.79%), metal chelating ability (0.21-8.15%), ferric ion reducing power (0.03-38.45 mu M ascorbic acid) and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity (16.53-62.83%) were assessed. The findings indicated that mulberry polyphenolics may act as potent superoxide anion radical scavengers and reducing agent

Application of different techniques on stone fruit (Prunus spp.) drying and assessment of physical, chemical and biological properties: Characterization of dried fruit properties

Drying of stone fruit with different techniques and characterization of physical, chemical and biological properties of convective dried, vacuum dried and lyophilised stone fruit, as well as analysing and structuring the data sets by principal component analysis (PCA) were obtained in this paper. Drying technique significantly influenced the shear force, hardness, springiness and cohesiveness of dried apricot NS4 (Novi Sad 4) samples (p <.05); the total phenolic, flavonoid and monomeric anthocyanin content of dried sour cherry Feketicka, sweet cherry Lapins, sweet cherry Sweet Heart and plum Toptase samples and also the antioxidant capacity of dried sour cherry Feketicka, plum Anna Spath and peach Lela samples. The most noticeable differentiations of the stone fruit groups of samples dried with convective and vacuum drying and lyophilisation were observed in raw and dried sour cherry Feketicka and Erdi Botermo samples. Practical applications: The results and conclusions obtained in this research have various application in food industry in many aspects. First, part of the fruit varieties investigated in this study were developed at the Faculty of Agriculture and their application in the fruit drying industry has been thoroughly investigated. In addition, application of different drying techniques on different stone fruit species were applied in this research. Finally, the possibilities of preservation the most important quality indicators of dried fruit was observed. The impact of obtained conclusions and results in the field of agricultural and food industry is significant, since they could be applied in the industrial processes

Agro-morphological characterisation and evaluation of a Serbian vineyard peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] germplasm collection

Seventy-five vineyard peach [Priam persica (LJ Batsch] accessions, obtained by seed propagation and originating from different regions of Serbia, were characterized using a set of 39 agro-morphological traits. The evaluation was carried out over a 3-year period in a vineyard peach collection situated at the Radmilovac Experimental Station, owned by the Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade University. To investigate diversity, descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used. Most studied traits showed high variability. The variability of descriptive traits was highly pronounced for fruit ground and flesh colour; regarding metric traits, the highest variation was recorded for trunk circumference, petal width, flower density, fruit set, fruit weight, sweetness index, fruit taste and fruit flavour. According to PCA, traits with high discriminating power were those related to flower type, colour and size, fruit size and presence of over colour, tree height, ripening time and fruit taste. The cluster analysis grouped accessions into three main clusters and a few sub-clusters. Agronomically important traits allowed a clear separation between the clusters, while morphological traits had almost no impact on this. This study provided information that is important for assessing the biodiversity of vineyard peach accessions, to develop guidelines useful for the description, classification and conservation of valuable local germplasm. Moreover, the phenotypic variability in the vineyard peach collection was found to be very high, suggesting there is extensive genetic diversity available for peach cultivar and rootstock breeding programs

European food quality schemes in everyday food consumption: An exploration of sayings and doings through pragmatic regimes of engagement

While European consumers generally support the principles underpinning Food Quality Schemes (FQS), sales of certified products remain modest. This phenomenon is known as ‘attitude-behaviour gap’ and considerable scholarly and policy efforts have been geared towards ‘filling’ or ‘bridging’ the gap. This study aims at casting new light on this ‘discrepancy’ between consumers’ sayings and doings through a study of everyday food practices connected to FQS. We used a qualitative multi-method research design comprising extensive ethnographic fieldwork data gathered from 41 households across seven European countries, including interviews, walk-along tours, and food diaries, in order to understand consumers’ perceptions of FQS in relation to their everyday food consumption practices. Building on convention theory and Thévenot’s work, we showed that food practices can be understood through different ‘regimes of engagement’, namely different ways of thinking and behaving, following different logics corresponding to varying levels of knowledge and interest. We thus argue that the ‘attitude’ behaviour gap’ should rather be reconceptualised as the co-existence of multiple regimes of engagement, namely a dynamic and always evolving process of adjustment through which consumers understand and engage with FQS in everyday food practices