RESUMO O tamarindo (Tamarindus indica L.) vem despertando interesse da população sul-americana por suas propriedades medicinais. Contudo, estudos com técnicas agronômicas para a espécie são ainda ...escassos. Com o objetivo de determinar o melhor método de enxertia para a produção de mudas de tamarindeiro, foi realizado um experimento em casa de vegetação na Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido - UFERSA, em Mossoró, RN. O delineamento utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, constituído por cinco tratamentos, que foram os métodos de enxertia (garfagem no topo em fenda cheia, garfagem no topo à inglesa, simples, garfagem no topo à inglesa, complicada, garfagem em fenda lateral e borbulhia em placa), com sete repetições, sendo cada parcela composta por 14 mudas. Foram avaliados: percentagem de pegamento dos enxertos, comprimento da parte aérea, comprimento do sistema radicular, comprimento de ramos, número de folhas, número de ramos, diâmetro do colo, matéria seca da parte aérea, matéria seca do sistema radicular, matéria seca total. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância e comparados pelo teste Tukey, a 5% de significância. Garfagem no topo em fenda cheia, garfagem no topo à inglesa complicada e garfagem no topo à inglesa simples foram os melhores métodos de enxertia para o tamarindeiro.
The effects of light exposure on 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) accumulation and degradation in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Franc berries were assessed by comparison of shaded and exposed ...clusters within the same vine throughout a growing season. Twenty-seven vines were shoot-thinned to create regions of high and low cluster-light exposure within each vine. Samples were collected at 10 time points starting from 5 to 130 days postbloom. The experimental design allowed for intravine comparison of IBMP levels between treatments at each time. Vine-to-vine variability of IBMP and the correlation of IBMP to malic acid were also evaluated. Cluster exposure reduced accumulation of IBMP at all preveraison time points by 21−44%, but did not increase postveraison degradation. Significant vine-to-vine variability in IBMP content was observed, with the highest level of IBMP in shaded berries in the most vigorous block of vines. Although IBMP concentration by weight decreased significantly due to dilution just prior to color change (veraison), no significant IBMP degradation per berry occurred until after color change (day 70 postbloom). By contrast, malic acid degradation began prior to color change, and malic acid concentrations were not affected by cluster exposure preveraison, but were affected postveraison. A survey of 13 sites in New York state (Seneca Lake) showed that IBMP concentrations at 2 weeks preveraison were highly correlated (R 2 = 0.936, p < 0.0001) to levels at harvest, whereas classic grape maturity indices at harvest were uncorrelated with IBMP at harvest. In summary, light exposure conditions critically influence IBMP accumulation but not IBMP degradation.
Understanding the environmental impacts of fruit production will provide fundamental information for policy making of fruit consumption and marketing. This study aims to characterize the carbon ...footprints of China’s fruit production and to figure out the key greenhouse gas emissions to cut with improved orchard management. Yearly input data of materials and energy in a full life cycle from material production to fruit harvest were obtained via field visits to orchards of five typical fruit types from selected areas of China. Carbon footprint (CF) was assessed with quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the individual inputs. Farm and product CFs were respectively predicted in terms of land use and of fresh fruit yield. Additionally, product CFs scaled by fruit nutrition value (vitamin C (Vc) content) and by the economic benefit from fruit production were also evaluated. The estimated farm CF ranged from 2.9 to 12.8 t CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ across the surveyed orchards, whereas the product CF ranged from 0.07 to 0.7 kg CO₂-eq kg⁻¹ fruit. While the mean product CFs of orange and pear were significantly lower than those of apple, banana, and peach, the nutrition-scaled CF of orange (0.5 kg CO₂-eq g⁻¹ Vc on average) was significantly lower than others (3.0–5.9 kg CO₂-eq g⁻¹ Vc). The income-scaled CF of orange and pear (1.20 and 1.01 kg CO₂-eq USD⁻¹, respectively) was higher than apple, banana, and peach (0.87~0.39 kg CO₂-eq USD⁻¹). Among the inputs, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer contributed by over 50 % to the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, varying among the fruit types. There were some tradeoffs in product CFs between fruit nutrition value and fruit growers’ income. Low carbon production and consumption policy and marketing mechanism should be developed to cut down carbon emissions from fruit production sector, with balancing the nutrition value, producer’s income, and climate change mitigation.
► Prescriptive–corrective management (PCM) of N and irrigation developed for vegetable crops. ► PCM takes advantage of capacity of fertigation and drip irrigation to spoon feed N and irrigation. ► ...PCM for irrigation – simulated ETc and tensiometers, for N – simulated N uptake and soil solution NO3−. ► PCM was compared to conventional management in muskmelon and pepper crops. ► PCM appreciably reduced irrigation volume, applied N, drainage and NO3− leaching.
The combined use of fertigation and drip irrigation to frequently apply small amounts of N throughout a crop provides the technical capacity for precise N and irrigation management. A prescriptive–corrective management (PCM) package, based on modeling and monitoring approaches, was developed for combined irrigation and N management to take advantage of this technical capacity in a greenhouse-based vegetable production system. For irrigation, the prescriptive component of PCM was the calculation of historical ETc using the simulation model PrHo to calculate ETc with long term climatic data, and the corrective component was the use of tensiometers. For N, the prescriptive component was based on simulation of crop N uptake, using the simulation model Nup, developed in the present study, and the corrective component was based on controlling soil solution NO3− in the immediate root zone of the plants. Combined PCM for both N and irrigation management was compared with conventional management (CM) for pepper and muskmelon crops. In both crops, fruit production was very similar in the CM and PCM treatments. Using PCM, total irrigation volume was reduced by 17% in pepper and by 20% in muskmelon; total drainage was reduced by 53 and 49%, respectively. Total applied N was reduced by 35% in pepper and by 29% in muskmelon. Total NO3− leaching loss was reduced by 58% in pepper and by at least 49% in muskmelon. The Nup simulation model of crop N uptake was calibrated and validated for pepper and muskmelon. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of combined PCM of both N and irrigation to take advantage of the advanced technical capacity of combined fertigation and drip irrigation systems for precise N and irrigation management.
•The propensity of melting-peach and nectarine cultivars to split-pit was characterized.•The split-pit occurrence was higher in nectarines compared with peaches and in yellow- compared with ...white-flesh cultivars.•Early ripening was the most important parameter related with split-pit fruit, followed by fruit size and rainfall during 30d after blooming.•The stone dimensions and accumulation of growing degree hours during different periods of fruit growth were not related with split-pit incidence.
Split-pit in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) is a physiological disorder occurring during fruit growth causing significant losses to growers, retailers and the canning industry worldwide. In the present study the split-pit susceptibility of 59 recently grown melting-peach and nectarine cultivars was investigated and occurrences were related with phenotypic traits such as ripening date, yield and fruit and stone traits, and climatic parameters such as growing degree hours and rainfall during different periods of fruit growth, in 4 growing seasons. Cultivars with lower propensity to split-pit was separated. The split-pit incidence was higher in nectarine compared with melting-peach, and also in yellow- compared with white-flesh cultivars. Early ripening was the most important parameter related with higher percentage of fruit with split-pit, followed by larger fruit and higher rainfall during 30d after blooming. The fruit and stone dimensions were not related with split-pits, neither was the sum of growing degree hours calculated during different periods after blooming. In conclusion, the present study provides information on the propensity to split-pit disorder of modern melting-peach and nectarine cultivars that may be important information for growers and breeders. A cultivation practice for reducing the split-pit incidence in sensitive cultivars is to aim for smaller fruit sizes, while the spring rainfall experienced could be used by growers as an indication for adjusting fruit load accordingly so that to diminish the expected damages.
•Heritage and Meeker raspberry plants showed different phenological responses to drought stress.•Differential physiological responses were observed in Heritage and Meeker plants under drought ...stress.•Proline and soluble total sugars increased with drought stress in Heritage and Meeker varieties.
Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is a deciduous plant with perennial roots, 75% of which are concentrated in the upper level of the soil. Its shallow rooting system requires a regular water supply; a water deficit can affect fructification as well as cane growth and yield for the following season. Despite the demonstrated drought stress impact on the raspberry, there is little information about the phenological and physiological responses to drought stress. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of drought stress on the phenological phases, physiological parameters and yield of two raspberry cultivars: Heritage (remontant type) and Meeker (non-remontant type). All plants were grown in pots under greenhouse conditions, and the following watering treatments were applied: (T1) well-watered, 100% irrigation and (T2) a controlled drought-stress cycle. The volumetric soil water content (θ), phenological phases, leaf net photosynthetic rate (A), transpiration rate (T), and stomatal conductance (gs) were registered periodically. The free proline and total soluble sugars were also determined. Based on the phenological study, Heritage under drought-stress (T2) showed earlier flowering and a shorter fruit production period in relation to well-watered plants (T1). In Meeker, T2 extended the cane and summer lateral elongation, showing earlier senescence. Leaf gas exchange decreased with drought stress, A declined after 28-day period under drought stress, from 9.2μmolCO2m−2s−1 to 3.0μmolCO2m−2s−1 in Heritage, and from 12.2μmolCO2m−2s−1 to 3.0μmolCO2m−2s−1 in Meeker. In both cultivars, the free proline and total soluble sugars increased with drought stress. The fruit production was also affected in the next season under T2 condition, decreasing in 34 and 38% in relation to well-watered plants.
Olive oil is a major economic resource of the Mediterranean region. Olive crop management can be improved by models that forecast the variable reproductive biology of olive tree. However, the ...processes controlling olive harvest are complex on large scales. Here, we study the parameters that influence olive fruit production for developing accurate forecasting models. Seventeen aerobiological sampling points have monitored olive pollen grains in Spain, Italy and Tunisia from 1993 to 2012. Six crop models have been developed at two provinces and country scales. The modelling has been done in two steps: (1) typification and (2) modelling by partial least square regression. Results show that higher pollen indexes and water availability during spring are related to an increase of final fruit production in all the studied area. Higher pollen indexes are also positively correlated with air temperature during early spring and autumn. Furthermore, a decrease of fruit production is related with increasing air temperature during winter and summer. To conclude, we have designed accurate models that allow accurate predictions of olive production.
Fruit juices labeled as 100% fruit are a growing market in the EU representing two-thirds of total sales in 2011. These usually have premium prices representing favored targets for adulteration. ...Herein our main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of High Resolution Melting Analysis applied to fruit species discrimination (orange, mango, peach, pear and pineapple) in fruit juices using the DNA barcode trnL. Three DNA extraction procedures (CTAB, membrane and resin based) were tested. The locus trnL proved to be appropriate being the mean genetic divergence estimated at 27.7%. Results provided a very clear discrimination of the 5 species easily visualized throughout the melt curve difference graphs. Mixed juices of orange and mango were also assayed. The complete discrimination of the mixtures was achieved proving the efficiency of the method as an authenticity test. The proposed methodology proved its efficiency in the genetic-based discrimination of species in juices with the advantages of single-tube analysis.
► The effectiveness of HRMA/trnL in fruit juices authentication was assessed. ► Three distinctive DNA extraction procedures for fruit juices were tested. ► The complete discrimination of fruits and fruit mixtures was achieved. ► Juice adulterants could be quickly and accurately detected with low reagent costs.
The potyvirus-induced passion fruit woodiness disease (PWD) is considered the most important limiting factor for passion fruit production in several countries. In Brazil, PWD is caused by the Cowpea ...aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV), and to date there are no reports on the existence of P. edulis genotypes resistant to this virus. Thus, resistance gene introgression from wild Passiflora species for a commercial species, via interspecific hybridization, is one of the strategies adopted in order to control the disease. The current study’s goals were to: confirm CABMV occurrence under field conditions; assess the resistance to CABMV in 178 Passiflora genotypes constituted by interspecific hybrids and their parents (P. edulis and P. setacea), as well as to estimate genetic parameters for the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), in order to obtain cultivars of sour passion fruit resistant to CABMV in future. The experimental design was set according to unbalanced randomized blocks with two repetitions. Data referring to the AUDPC were analyzed by means of the mixed models methodology (REMI/BLUP). CABMV infections were confirmed in sour passion fruit plants and in interspecific hybrids by observing foliar mosaic symptoms and by PTA-ELISA with specific antiserum against CABMV. There was a difference on the intensity of symptoms induced by CABMV for the 178 Passiflora genotypes assessed under natural occurrence conditions. The higher AUDPC values were obtained for 41 hybrids and for all P. edulis genotypes. In turn, lower values were estimated for 115 hybrid genotypes and for all P. setacea individuals. Of the 31 genotypes assessed by PTA-ELISA, 28 were considered resistant, out of those three P. setacea genotypes and 25 hybrids. Estimated AUDPC heritability values (0.99) and accuracy (0.99) enable inferring that resistance to CABMV within the assessed population was highly inheritable, allowing high selective efficiency. Resistant hybrid plants will be able to be selected and recombined with P. edulis genotypes and, again, assessed in order to corroborate the resistance to the virus, providing means of following up with the breeding genetic program on CABMV resistance.
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