A cherry-harvesting robot was manufactured for trial purposes and basic experiments were conducted. The main parts of the robot are a manipulator 4 degrees of freedom (DOF), a 3-D vision sensor, an ...end effector, a computer, and a traveling device. The 3-D vision sensor was equipped with red and infrared laser diodes. Both laser beams scan the object simultaneously. By processing the images from the 3-D vision sensor, the locations of the fruits and obstacles were recognized, and the trajectory of the end effector was determined. Fruits were picked by the end effector, while avoiding collisions with obstacles.
Background
Effective control of shot-hole disease in flowering cherries is challenging because of multiple causative pathogens (bacteria and fungi).
Bacillus
species are well-known for their ability ...to control plant pathogens; therefore, biological control potential of a
Bacillus
isolate,
B. velezensis
8–2, against SH disease on flowering cherry trees was investigated.
Results
This study revealed strong antimicrobial activity of
Bacillus velezensis
8–2 against various plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi, particularly focusing on
Xanthomonas arboricola
pv.
pruni
(Xap) and
Mycosphaerella cerasella
(Mc), which cause shot-hole (SH) disease in flowering cherry trees. In vitro assays showed that the fermentation filtrate of
B. velezensis
8–2 inhibited bacterial and fungal growth with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 1.25–10% and 2.5–10%, respectively. UPLC-Q–Orbitrap–MS analysis revealed that
B. velezensis
8–2 produced antagonistic compounds, including polyketides (difficidin and oxydifficidin) and cyclic lipopeptides (iturin A, fengycin, and surfatin). To enhance antimicrobial activity, fermentation parameters for optimal production of two antibacterial and three antifungal compounds were investigated in a 5 L jar fermenter. By regulating the agitation speed to sustain the state of vegetative cells, the production period was extended by 20 h at 400 rpm, resulting in maximum yields of 86.6 μg/mL for difficidin and 150.0 μg/mL for oxydifficidin within a 72 h fermentation period. In a field trial, a 500-fold diluted 10% suspension concentrate formulation of
B. velezensis
8–2 effectively inhibited the development of SH disease, demonstrating 66.6% disease control and a 90.2% disease symptoms reduction.
Conclusions
This is the first report to assess the disease control efficacy of
B. velezensis
for the biocontrol of SH disease in the field. These results suggest that the application of
B. velezensis
8–2 could serve as a practical alternative for managing various bacterial and fungal diseases, including the management of SH disease in flowering cherry trees.
Graphical Abstract
Declines in the number of commercial honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and some wild bee species around the world threaten fruit, nut, and vegetable production and have prompted ...interest in developing methods for gaining efficiencies in pollination services. One possible approach would be to deploy attractants within the target crop to increase the number of floral visits. In this study, we evaluate two new pollinator attractants, Polynate and SPLAT Bloom, for their ability to increase pollinator visitation and fruit set in apple (Malus pumila Mill.), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium sp. L.), and tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.). Polynate is a plastic twintube dispenser loaded with a mixture of floral scent and Nasonov pheromone. SPLAT Bloom contains the same chemical formula as Polynate, but is applied as a 3 g wax dollop directly onto the tree or bush. The objectives of this study were to determine if Polynate and SPLAT Bloom increase the number of honey bee foragers and fruit set in apples, highbush blueberries, and tart cherries. We conducted replicated evaluations of 32 fields or orchards with and without putative attractants over three growing seasons. Both products failed to provide a measurable increase in pollinator visits or fruit set in these crops, indicating no return on investment for either product.
Coffee is one of the most important commodities worldwide. The industrial processing of coffee cherries generates a considerable volume of by-products such as wastewater, coffee pulp, mucilage, and ...husk. These by-products have sugars and nutrients that can be converted into value-added products via microbial action. In this study, for the first time, we evaluated the potential of coffee pulp and coffee wastewater as substrate for alcoholic fermentation produce a distilled beverage. The must composed by dry or wet coffee pulp and coffee wastewater added of commercial sucrose or sugarcane molasses was fermented by
S. cerevisiae
. After a screening step, a larger fermentation was carried out with the wet pulp added of sucrose due to its higher alcoholic fermentation efficiency. The distilled beverage contained 38% (v/v) ethanol and 0.2 g/L of acetic acid. The contaminants furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural and ethyl carbamate were below detection level. Among the 48 volatile compounds detected, the majority (21) were ethyl esters usually associated with floral and sweet aromas. Ethyl decanoate (996.88 µg/L) and ethyl dodecanoate (1088.09 µg/L) were the most abundant esters. Coffee spirit presented taste acceptance of 80% and sugarcane spirit, 70%. The tasters indicated an aroma acceptance of 86% for the coffee spirit and 78% for the sugarcane spirit. The results of this work demonstrate the potential for using coffee by-products to produce a good quality distilled beverage. Considering our results, especially sensorial analysis, we can infer that the produced coffee beverage represents a new alternative for adding value to the coffee production chain.
The phytochemical composition of fruits, especially polyphenols, depends on the environmental conditions under which these fruits are cultivated and the agronomic practices followed. Therefore, the ...consumption of fruits from different origins, with different polyphenol signatures, could have differential effects on health. In addition, recent studies have shown that variation in the biological rhythms due to changes in the photoperiod in the different seasons differentially affect the metabolism in animal models, thus conditioning their response to food consumption. Considering all, this article evaluates the effects of consumption of sweet cherry from different sources, local (LC) and non-local (nLC), on plasma metabolic parameters and the gene expression of key enzymes of lipid metabolism in Fischer 344 rats under photoperiods simulating different seasons. Animals were classified into three photoperiods (L6, L12 and L18) and three treatments (LC, nLC and VH). Both the photoperiod and the treatments significantly affected the evaluated parameters. An effect of the photoperiod on triacylglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids and the mRNA concentration of crucial enzymes from the hepatic lipid metabolism was observed. Furthermore, the consumption of fruit in L12 lowered blood glucose, while the different treatments affected the hepatic expression of genes related with lipidic enzymes.
Sweet cherry producers must deal with different climactic challenges annually, specifically the impact of spring frost and the inherent risk of fruit cracking. This susceptibility arises from the ...simultaneous occurrence of spring frost during the bloom stage or the sweet cherry cracking at vulnerable maturity stages in sweet cherry trees during persistent rainfall. Given the change in climatic patterns, the implementation of new strategies and innovative approaches becomes imperative to alleviate potential damage from these climatic adversities. This study aims to explore—for the first time—the effectiveness of preharvest putrescine applications during the flowering stage and ripening on-tree to increase tolerance in sweet cherry against adverse climatic events throughout its on-tree development and at the time of harvest. In this context, foliar applications of putrescine at concentrations of 1 and 10 mM were administered to distinct sweet cherry cultivars, namely, ‘Prime Giant’ and ‘Sweetheart’. Over the course of four growing seasons, our investigation focused on evaluating the influence of this natural elicitor on the frost resilience of flower buds during the preharvest period and its impact on reducing fruit cracking in these selected cultivars. In this sense, the overall malondialdehyde content exhibited a reduction in flower buds treated with putrescine, and the fruit set experienced an increase across the majority of evaluated growing seasons. On the other hand, the incidence of sweet cherry cracking in putrescine-treated sweet cherries showed a consistent reduction in all the studied growing seasons. Our results indicate that preharvest treatments with putrescine effectively alleviate the susceptibility of flower buds to spring frost and significantly diminish fruit cracking, thereby enhancing the overall tolerance to abiotic stress. Furthermore, we evaluated different quality parameters at the time of harvest, including fruit firmness, external color, total soluble solids, and total acidity. Generally, the observed changes in these parameters were delayed in putrescine-treated fruit as compared to the control batch or remained unaffected. For this reason, the implementation of preharvest treatments based on putrescine emerges as a valuable strategy for adapting to climate change and mitigating the impact of abiotic stress, potentially increasing sweet cherry production.
Cornelian cherry (
Cornus mas
L.) belongs to a group of fruit and nut species growing in Europe considered to be underused economically, although it has been recognized as a potential regional ...“superfood” and as a source of valuable bioactive compounds. Phenotyping fruits of 30 accessions of an Austrian wildtype population of
C. mas
allowed to evaluate their nutraceutical potential. Ten fruits per accession were characterized by morphological and morphometric approaches. Biochemical analyses were performed to determine the respective amounts of vitamin C, sugars, anthocyanins, iridoids and flavonoids. Both datasets were subjected to statistical analyses. Morphological and morphometric characterization and biochemical analyses enabled the identification of the individuals with the highest economic value. Statistical treatment of data identified the most significant principal components. The first phenotypic profiling of bioactive compounds of wildtype
C. mas
in Austria yielded a high variability. Dealing with wildtype plants, this is not surprising. However, our results allow to select among the Austrian
C. mas
accessions the most interesting individuals for further breeding of this alternative fruit with interesting nutritional values.
Although fruit decay in sweet cherries has been studied in some detail, information is still scarce about the possible role of phytohormones during postharvest. Here, we examined whether or not ...changes in endogenous contents of phytohormones occur during fruit decay of sweet cherries stored at room temperature. We evaluated (i) the endogenous variations in the contents of phytohormones, including abscisic acid, gibberellins, cytokinins, auxin, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and melatonin, by UHPLC–ESI–MS/MS during fruit decay at room temperature, and (ii) to what extent these changes in phytohormone contents were associated with alterations in water contents, soluble sugars and acidity. Endogenous contents of abscisic acid, cytokinins and gibberellins decreased in parallel with fruit decay, thus suggesting a protective role against over-ripening for these compounds. Among cytokinins and gibberellins, free cytokinin bases (zeatin and 2-isopentenyl adenine, rather than their ribosides), and gibberellin 3, changed in parallel with fruit decay. It is concluded that abscisic acid, free cytokinin bases and gibberellin 3 may prevent fruit decay during storage of sweet cherries at room temperature.
The role of exogenous salicylic acid (SA) in regulating an antioxidative defense response of sweet cherry (
Prunus avium L. cv. Hongdeng) fruit inoculated with
Penicillium expansum was investigated ...by immunodetection of carbonylated proteins. After inoculation with
P. expansum, carbonylated proteins accumulated to a lesser extent in SA-treated fruit than in control fruit, ranging from molecular mass 29–45
kDa. Higher activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase were observed in SA-treated fruit. Similarly, the expressions of
CAT,
GPX and
β-1,3-glucanase genes were also stimulated by SA treatment. Moreover, 2
mM SA did not inhibit
P. expansum growth
in vitro. These results indicate that SA activated antioxidant defense responses of sweet cherry fruit, which may play a role in the resistance against
P. expansum.
Cornelian cherries has been grown Balkan peninsula no apparent disease and pest problems for centuries. The most important pomological and technological properties of cornelian cherry genetic ...resources (eleven local and introduced varieties and selections) in Gornje Polimlje, Montenegro were studied in four-year periods. Fruit weight, stone weight, and mesocarp/stone ratio shows great variation and varied between 1.89 to 6.16 g, 0.32 to 0.64 g and between 76.66 and 90.59%, respectively. Genotypes significantly differed each other in terms of yield determined as per trunk cross section area (TCSA). For better visualization of the agronomical traits important to the yield, i.e., yield per TCSA and fruit weight data is presented in combination as measured in the years of study. The best promising genotypes are Vladimirskiy, Chisinau yellow, and Krupnoplodni NS, which had consistently higher yield and large fruits for sustainable fruit production. Dry matter, total sugars, reducing sugars, sucrose, total acidity, Ca–pectate, vitamin C, total anthocyanins, total polyphenols, and ash content of cornelian cherry cultivars and selections were found between 19.81–24.46%, 10.94–14.47%, 10.44–13.09%, 0.24–1.23%, 1.92–2.51%, 2.76–4.43%, 41.09–101.27 mg/100 g, 0–157.06 mg/100 g, 183.91–307.9 mg/100 g, and 0.89–1.16%, respectively. The amount of potassium, which predominates in percentage of minerals in the ash, ranged from 2888 to 3574 mg/kg. The extensiveness of the study leads, therefore, to several clear conclusions and recommendations. Consistently, the best balance of biochemical elements in combination with good yield and fruit size measurements is found in selection Krupnoplodi NS. If consider fruit size and yield efficiency are priority, Vladimirskiy, Chisinau yellow, Kosten 3, and Krupnoplodni NS have clear advantage over the other genotypes. The study highlights the importance of local cornelian cherry selections for sustainable cornelian cherry production in Montenegro.
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