Elif Ertürk Çandir

Rootstock potential of Turkish Lagenaria siceraria germplasm for watermelon: plant growth, yield and quality

* Correspondence: huseyinayhan44@yahoo.com

Storage life of non-astringent persimmons grown in the eastern Mediterranean.

Abstract The storage life of the non-astringent persimmon cultivars ‘Fuyu’, ‘Jiro’, ‘Amankaki’ and ‘Hana Fuyu’ grown in the eastern Mediterranean region has been studied. Persimmon fruit were harvested at commercial maturity and stored at 0°C and 85–90% relative humidity. Neither chilling injury nor fungal decay were observed in ‘Fuyu’, ‘Jiro’ and ‘Amankaki’ over 150 days or in ‘Hana Fuyu’ over 120 days. Weight loss exceeded 10% in ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Amankaki’ fruit after 150 days and in ‘Jiro’ after 120 days. During storage, fruit softened and skin colour became darker (lower L* values) and deep orange-red (lower hue angle values) in all cultivars. Total soluble solids (TSS) content and titratable acidity did not change significantly. Results confirm that ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Jiro’ can be stored under these conditions for up to 150 days and ‘Amankaki’ and ‘Hana Fuyu’ for up to 120 days.

Effects of rootstocks on storage and shelf life of grafted watermelons

Watermelon fruits from non-grafted or grafted ‘Crimson Tide’ (CT) and ‘Crisby’ (CR) onto Ferro, RS841, Argentario and Macis rootstocks were compared for their postharvest quality during storage at 7 °C for 21 days and additional 7 days at 21 °C. Non-grafted and grafted CT and CR fruits did not exhibit chilling injury (CI) symptoms, but the 1-2% of fungal decay occurred after shelf life period following storage. Watermelons grafted on Ferro and RS841 rootstocks had higher flesh firmness thicker rind, lower ripening rating, more intense (higher C*) brighter red (lower h° value) color and higher lycopene content after shelf life period following storage, compared to non-grafted fruits. All of the fruit tested by the panelists received high taste scores of >7.9 out of 8.5 at the beginning, but the scores decreased to >6.8 out of 7.7 at the end of shelf life period. Watermelons could successfully be kept for 21 days at 7 °C and additional 7 days at 21 °C. Watermelons grafted on Ferro and RS841 rootstocks had higher postharvest quality, compared to the non-grafted fruits for both cultivars.

Volatile organic compounds in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) grafted onto 21 local and two commercial bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) rootstocks

Summary Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are responsible for flavour development in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). The objective of this study was to investigate the rootstock effects of 21 local bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] accessions collected from the Mediterranean region (Turkey) on the concentrations of VOCs in watermelon over 2 years. The watermelon cultivar ‘Crimson Tide’ was used as the scion and two commercial bottle gourd rootstocks were also used for comparison. The VOCs in each rootstock-scion combination were analysed using static headspace (SHS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 24 VOCs were identified in watermelon fruit, including 11 aldehydes, seven alcohols, four ketones, one heterocyclic compound, and one acid. Acetaldehyde (25.9 – 39.5% of the total peak areas), propanal (5.0 – 8.3%), 2-propanone (2.5 – 4.9%), pentanal (2.1 – 3.6%), hexenal (14.5 – 22.6%), (E)-2-hexenal (0.4 – 2.3%), 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (10.0 – 19.05%), nonanal (1.6 – 4.4%), (Z)-6-nonenal (4.0 – 9.8%), (E)-2-nonenal (0.6 – 2.0%), (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal (2.1 – 3.7%), (Z)-6-nonenol (1.0 – 3.2%), and (E,Z)-3,6-nonadienol (1.0 – 3.7%) were the most abundant VOCs found in all watermelon scions. There was no significant effect (P ≥ 0.05) of rootstock on the concentrations of acetaldehyde, propanal, pentanal, heptanal, ethanol, 1-pentanol, 2-propanone, 2-pentyl furan, or acetic acid. Propanal, 2-propanone, and acetic acid were identified as VOCs in watermelon for the first time. Hexanal, (Z)-6-nonanal, and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one concentrations were strongly affected by rootstock. The results showed that the local bottle gourd accessions 07-06 and 31-09, in particular, were the most promising genotypes in terms of producing favourable VOCs. Except for the local bottle gourd accessions 33-35, 01-17, and 07-04, the other 18 gourds accessions had high potential as rootstocks for breeding programmes in watermelon with regard to desirable VOC concentrations. Rootstock 31-09 should be considered for commercial production in terms of improved disease resistance, fruit yield, and fruit quality.

Fresh-Cut Fruits

Fresh-cut fruits have become popular because they meet the consumer demand for convenient ready-to-eat foods with fresh-like quality as well as for the health benefits associated with their consumption. Fresh-cut fruits are characterized by a shorter shelf life than their whole counterparts, because a large and usually damaged surface area from peeling and cutting results in a higher respiration, ethylene and transpiration rates and a greater possibility of enzymatic and microbial deterioration. These changes are usually accompanied by cut surface browning, loss of firmness, typical aroma and vitamin as well as off-flavor development, surface desiccation, decay and a shorter shelf life of fresh-cut fruits. This chapter aims to review the published scientific information related to extend the shelf life while maintaining nutritional, sensory and microbial quality of commercially available some of important fresh-cut fruits for a time adequate to allow distribution and marketing. Several commodities, although botanically fruits (e.g., cucumber, pepper and tomato), will not be covered since they are commonly classified with salads, as vegetables.

Fremont ve Nova mandarin çeşitlerinin meyve gelişim sürecindeki kalite parametrelerindeki değişimler ve derim olumu

Bu calismanin amaci, Dortyol kosullarinda yetistirilen Fremont ve Nova mandarin cesitlerinin meyve kalitesinde gorulen degisimlerin ve derim zamaninin belirlenmesidir. Bu arastirmada yerli turunc anaci uzerine asili Fremont ve Nova mandarin cesitlerinin meyveleri kullanilmistir. Meyve gelisim surecinde secilen agaclardan Haziran dokumunden olgunlasincaya kadar meyve ornekleri alinmaya baslamis ve alinan meyvelerde her seferinde meyve eni (mm) ve boyu (mm), meyve agirligi (g), meyve kabuk rengi L* ve h o degeri, usare miktari (%), suda cozunebilir toplam kuru madde miktari (SCKM, %), titre edilebilir asit icerigi (TEA, %), SCKM/TEA orani ve meyve suyu pH degeri olculmustur. Bulgularimiza gore, Dortyol kosullarinda yetistirilen Fremont ve Nova mandarin cesitleri icin Kasim ayinin son haftasi ile Aralik ayinin ilk haftasi (ciceklenmeden itibaren 200-215. gunler) SCKM/TEA orani 8’in uzerinde ve renklenme ( ho degeri 80-90 arasinda) yeterli seviyede olup, en uygun derim olum zamani olarak saptanmistir.

DÖRTYOL VE SAMANDAĞ (HATAY)' DA YETİŞTİRİLEN VALENCIA LATE PORTAKALLARININ SOĞUKTA MUHAFAZASI SIRASINDA KALİTE DEĞİŞİMLERİ

Bu calismanin amaci, Dortyol ve Samandag yorelerinde yetistirilen Valencia Late portakallarinin sogukta muhafazasi sirasinda meyve kalitesinde gorulen degisimlerin belirlenmesidir. Arastirmada, 7 x 7 m araliklarla tesis edilmis Yerli turunc anaci uzerine asili Valencia Late portakali meyveleri kullanilmistir. Valencia Late portakallari 4 ve 6°C’lerde ve %85-90 oransal nemde ayda bir analizlenmek uzere 6 ay sureyle muhafaza edilmislerdir. Muhafaza sirasinda meyvelerde meydana gelen fiziksel ve kimyasal degisimler (agirlik kayiplari, usare, yesil kapsullu meyve orani, suda cozunebilir toplam kuru madde, pH, titre edilebilir asit, meyve kabuk rengi L* ve hue degeri) ile mantarsal ve fizyolojik bozulmalar incelenmistir. Dortyol kosullarinda yetistirilen Valencia Late portakallarinin 4°C sicaklik ve %85-90 oransal nemde 4 ay, 6°C sicaklik ve %85-90 oransal nemde ise 3 ay depolanabilecegi saptanmistir. Samandag kosullarinda yetistirilenlerin ise 4°C ve 6°C sicaklik ve %85-90 oransal nemde 3 ay kalitelerinden cok fazla bir sey kaybetmeden depolanabilecegi saptanmistir.