Fatemeh Nazoori; Elaheh ZamaniBahramabadi; Seyed Hossein Mirdehghan; Mozhdeh Yousefi
Abstract
In recent years, sulfur has been shown to be effective in controlling pistachio psylla. In this study, the effect of sulfur foliar application as psylla pesticide on fresh fruit and kernel of three cultivars of pistachio was determined and compared with two commercial pesticides. Refinery micronized ...
Read More
In recent years, sulfur has been shown to be effective in controlling pistachio psylla. In this study, the effect of sulfur foliar application as psylla pesticide on fresh fruit and kernel of three cultivars of pistachio was determined and compared with two commercial pesticides. Refinery micronized and mineral sulfur were applied at two concentrations of 30 and 60 kg/1000 L of water. The quality of fresh pistachio hulls and kernels were investigated. In ‘Fandoghi’ cultivar, all sulfur treatments reduced the kernel moisture. The firmness and water activity of hulls and kernels were significantly affected. All sulfur treatments decreased hull lightness in ‘Fandoghi’, while it increased in ‘Akbari’ and ‘Ahmadaghaei’ cultivars. Reduction of hull chroma was observed in some cases in all cultivars. Hue of hulls was not affected by the treatments. Lightness, chroma and hue values of the testa of kernels were not affected in ‘Fandoghi’ and ‘Akbari’. In ‘Ahmadaghaei’, refinery micronized sulfur increased the testa lightness and hue and decreased chroma probably because of the softer texture of hull in ‘Ahmadaghaei’ which breaks more easily during harvest practice. Sulfur treatments positively influenced appearance and general acceptance of ‘Ahmadaghaei’ fruits. The taste and aroma of pistachios were preserved in most of treatments. High concentration (60 kg/1000 L) of both sulfur types enhanced the ethylene production in ‘Ahmadaghaei’ which was almost same as the unripe fruit because sulfur treatments reduced the percentage of unripe fruit. In ‘Ahmadaghaei’, refinery micronized sulfur treatments increased the respiration rate.
Yaaghoob Hosseini; Hamed Hassanzadeh Khankahdani; Ramezan Rezazadeh
Abstract
‘Siyahoo’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is one of the most important high-quality cultivars of citrus. The alternate bearing, especially in old trees, is one of the most important economic problems faced by this cultivar, which adversely affects the fruit quality. This study was carried out ...
Read More
‘Siyahoo’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata) is one of the most important high-quality cultivars of citrus. The alternate bearing, especially in old trees, is one of the most important economic problems faced by this cultivar, which adversely affects the fruit quality. This study was carried out to examine the effects of the timing of nitrogen foliar application (mid-November, mid-December, and mid-January) as urea 0.5% and harvest time (the first time: concordant with the minimum commercial ratio of TSS/TA and the second time: 45 days after the first time) on improving the fruit yield and quality of ‘Siyahoo’ mandarin during five successive years from 2012 to 2017 using 36 trees. The results showed that the second harvest time (conventionally practiced) produced the highest yield compared to the first harvest time (for the lowest TSS/TA ratio). The highest yield was obtained in the second harvest time when nitrogen was sprayed in November. The significant interaction of harvest time and spray timing revealed the lower pH (~3) in the first harvest compared to the second one (~4). Nitrogen spraying in November and January yielded the highest (8-10) and lowest (<8) TSS/TA ratio, respectively. Although, the effect of the timing of nitrogen spraying on the fruit weight was not significant, spraying in January increased the fruit weight by 10% compared to the November spraying. Variations in the fruit diameter followed a similar pattern to variation in the fruit weight, which was due to their correlations. In conclusion, it is recommended to harvest the fruits after second nitrogen application, because the higher fruit yield and quality in terms of sweetness and flavor (TSS/TA ratio) are more acceptable.
Mehdi Hadadinejad; Kamran Ghasemi; Amir Ali Mohammadi
Abstract
Blackberry is a highly perishable fruit and its quality decreases very quickly during postharvest period. In this research, two types of container including: oriented poly styrene (OPS), a petroleum-based material, and oriented poly corn starch (OPCS), a bio-based material, was analyzed over 14 days ...
Read More
Blackberry is a highly perishable fruit and its quality decreases very quickly during postharvest period. In this research, two types of container including: oriented poly styrene (OPS), a petroleum-based material, and oriented poly corn starch (OPCS), a bio-based material, was analyzed over 14 days to determine their effects on shelf life of thornless blackberry. Packages were placed in freezer (0˚C), refrigerator (4˚C) and room (25˚C) temperatures in a factorial format based on completely randomized design. Results showed a strong positive correlation between fruit weight and marketability (R2 = 0.726). It was confirm that fruit weight loss and shriveling can be an important reason for marketability reduction in blackberry. Blackberries were survived for 14 days at 0˚C, 8 days at 4˚C and only 3 days at room temperature. A downward trend was observed for pH, TA and TSS during the storage as well as for fruit taste and visual color. Fruits TSS was decreased regardless of the packaging materials and storage. Blackberries that were kept in OPS had significantly higher marketability and lower weight loss in comparison with OPCS that caused a reduction in fruit visual color and marketability. Results indicated that OPCS permeability caused higher fruit weight loss in comparison with other treatments. Blackberries in OPCS container had the highest amount of phenolic components following 14 days at 0˚C, which was significantly more than amount of phenolic components of fruits in OPS container. Compared to OPS, OPCS container did not make any improving in its characteristics to reduce fruit water loss that can be possible by using Nano clay particles.
Safoora Dehghanipoodeh; Mohammad Ali Askari; Ali Reza Talaei; Mesbah Babalar
Abstract
Apple is one of the most important fruits in temperate zones with a long post-harvest life during cold storage. A factorial experiment, in a randomized completely block design was used to investigate the preharvest application of Iron (0, 500 and 1000 mg Fe-EDDHA per tree) and nitrogen (0, 48 and 96 ...
Read More
Apple is one of the most important fruits in temperate zones with a long post-harvest life during cold storage. A factorial experiment, in a randomized completely block design was used to investigate the preharvest application of Iron (0, 500 and 1000 mg Fe-EDDHA per tree) and nitrogen (0, 48 and 96 g ammonium nitrate per tree( on some postharvest qualitative characteristics in "Red spur" and "Granny smith" apple cultivars. Iron and nitrogen treatments in all 72 trees were applied in three stages (full bloom, 30 and 60 days after full bloom). Fruit quality parameters including colorskin color parameters (L*, a*, b*), flesh firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), Titratable acidity (TA), flavor index (TSS/TA) and total antioxidant activity were measured. According to the results, a decrease in fruit firmness, TA and increase in TSS/TA in both cultivars were observed during cold storage irrespective of treatments. The results showed that in “Red spur” cultivar, Fe application decreased fruit firmness, TSS, b* parameter values and increased TSS/TA, a* parameter values, while, N application increased TSS. Fruit firmness was decreased and TSS, TSS/TA, b* parameter values were increased by Fe application in “Granny smith” cultivar. Fruit firmness, TSS and L* parameter values were decreased and TA was increased by N application on this cultivar. In conclusion, Fe and N application in proper levels improved some postharvest qualitative characteristics in "Red spur" and "Granny smith" apple cultivars during cold storage.
Mahmood Izadi; Elham Aslmoshtaghi
Abstract
The date palm bunch fading disorder/disease is one of the greatest challenges faced by date palm growers. In the present study, the effect of appropriate orchard management on some qualitative and quantitative features of date palm bunch was studied. For this purpose, two orchards of cv ‘Kabkab’ ...
Read More
The date palm bunch fading disorder/disease is one of the greatest challenges faced by date palm growers. In the present study, the effect of appropriate orchard management on some qualitative and quantitative features of date palm bunch was studied. For this purpose, two orchards of cv ‘Kabkab’ with a history of previous incidence were selected in two districts of Bushehr province; Tangestan and Dashtestan. The orchards were divided into two parts; one as control and another as treated plants. On the treated part, some management practices such as plowing, leaf pruning, proper nutrition, regular irrigation, pollination, regulation of leaf-bunch ratio, thinning in pollination stage, control of weeds, pests and diseases were conducted scientifically while the control part was maintained with conventional local practices. During the treatment phase, all bunches in the Khalal stage were covered with a white cloth bag. The results from both treatment plots showed that proper orchard management can improve fruit yield (Dashtestan 52.2 kg tree-1, Tangestan 88.1 kg tree-1) and reduce the severity of symptoms and therefore reduce date palm bunch fading disorder.
