Vineyard exposure to wildfire smoke can taint grapes and wine. To understand the impact of this taint, it is imperative that the analytical methods used are accurate and precise. This study compared the variance across nine commercial and research laboratories following quantitative analysis of the same set of smoke-tainted wines. In parallel, correlations between the interlaboratory consensus values for smoke-taint markers and sensory analyses of the same smoke-tainted wines were evaluated. For free guaiacol, the mean accuracy was 94 ± 11% in model wine, while the free cresols and 4-methylguaiacol showed a negative bias and/or decreased precision relative to guaiacol. Similar trends were observed in smoke-tainted wines, with the cresols and glycosidically bound markers demonstrating high variance. Collectively, the interlaboratory results show that data from a single laboratory can be used quantitatively to understand smoke-taint. Results from different laboratories, however, should not be directly compared due to the high variance between study participants. Correlations between consensus compositional data and sensory evaluations suggest the risk of perceivable smoke-taint can be predicted from free cresol concentrations, overcoming limitations associated with the occurrence of some volatile phenols, guaiacol in particular, as natural constituents of some grape cultivars and of the oak used for barrel maturation.

This study investigated the impact of feeding pelleted diets containing camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz) hay (CAHP) or camelina meal (CAMP) as a supplement compared with a control pellet (CONP) diet, without vitamin E fortification. The fatty acid profile, retail colour, and lipid oxidative stability of lamb and yearling meat (m. longissimus lumborum) stored for short-, medium-, or long-periods (2 days (fresh), 45 days and 90 days) under chilled to semi-frozen conditions were determined. The CAMP diet altered key fatty acids (p < 0.05) in a nutritionally beneficial manner for human health compared to the other diets, with increased total omega-3, decreased omega-6 fatty acids and decreased omega-6/omega-3 ratio of muscle. Muscle vitamin E concentration was lower (p < 0.05) for both camelina diets (CAMP and CAHP) when compared with the CONP diet, with the average concentrations less than 1 mg/kg muscle for all three treatments. Animal type and storage length were factors that all affected (p < 0.05) colour and lipid oxidative stability of meat. These results emphasise the importance of vitamin E concentration in meat stored for extended periods under semi-frozen conditions to maintain desirable meat colour during retail display, and to avoid off-flavour development of the cooked meat.

The impact of antioxidant supplementation and short-term heat stress on lamb body weight gain, meat nutritional profile and functionality (storage stability of lipids and colour) of lamb meat was investigated. A total of 48 crossbred ((Merino × Border Leicester) × Dorset) lambs (42 ± 2 kg body weight, 7 mo age) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments (n = 16) by liveweight (LW) that differed in dosage of vitamin E and selenium (Se) in the diet. Vitamin E and Se levels in the control (CON), moderate (MOD) and supranutritional (SUP) dietary treatments were 28, 130 and 228 mg/kg DM as α-tocopherol acetate and 0.16, 0.66 and 1.16 mg Se as SelPlex™/kg DM, respectively. After four weeks of feeding in individual pens, including one week of adaptation, lambs were exposed to two heat treatments. Animals were moved to metabolism cages for one week and subjected to heat treatments: thermoneutral (TN; 18–21 °C and 40–50% relative humidity) and heat stress (HS; 28–40 °C and 30–40% relative humidity) conditions, respectively. Final LW and hot carcass weight were influenced by dietary treatments with higher final live weight (FLW) (p = 0.05; 46.8 vs. 44.4 and 43.8 kg, respectively) and hot carcass weight (HCW) (p = 0.01; 22.5 vs. 21.3 and 21.0 kg, respectively) recorded in lambs fed the SUP as opposed to the CON and MOD diets. Vitamin E concentration in the longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle tended to be higher in lambs fed MOD or SUP diets than the CON group. Lipid oxidation of aged meat at 72 h of simulated retail display was reduced by antioxidant supplementation. Short-term (one week) heat stress treatment significantly increased muscle linoleic acid and total omega-6 concentrations compared with the CON group. The results demonstrate that four-week antioxidant supplementation at the SUP level improved animal productivity by increasing LW and carcass weight and the functionality of meat exhibited by reduced lipid oxidation. An increase in muscle omega-6 fatty acid concentration from short-term heat stress may induce oxidative stress via proinflammatory action.

The triggers of biennial bearing are thought to coincide with embryonic development in apple and occurs within the first 70 days after full bloom (DAFB). Strong evidence suggests hormonal signals are perceived by vegetative apple spur buds to induce flowering. The hormonal response is typically referred to as the floral induction (FI) phase in bud meristem development. To determine the metabolic pathways activated in FI, young trees of the biennial bearing cultivar ‘Nicoter’ and the less susceptible cultivar ‘Rosy Glow’ were forced into an alternate cropping cycle over five years and an inverse relationship of crop load and return bloom was established. Buds were collected over a four-week duration within 70 DAFB from trees that had maintained a four-year biennial bearing cycle. Metabolomics profiling was undertaken to determine the differentially expressed pathways and key signalling molecules associated with biennial bearing. Marked metabolic differences were observed in trees with high and low crop load treatments. Significant effects were detected in members of the phenylpropanoid pathway comprising hydroxycinnamates, salicylates, salicylic acid biosynthetic pathway intermediates and flavanols. This study identifies plant hormones associated with FI in apples using functional metabolomics analysis.

This work aimed to (i) determine the reliability of a portable Bluetooth colourimeter for fruit colour measurements; (ii) characterise the changes in quantitative skin colour attributes in a nectarine cultivar in response to time from harvest; and (iii) determine the influence of row orientation and training system on nectarine skin colour. The skin colour attributes measured with the colourimeter, namely L*, a* and b*, were calibrated and validated against a reference spectrophotometer. C* and h° were obtained from a* and b*. Skin colour was measured in situ from 42 days before to 6 days after harvest on ‘Majestic Pearl’ nectarines subjected to different row orientations and training systems. Validation models showed high reliability of colour estimations. The trends of colour attributes over time were characterised by cubic regression models, with h° proving to be the best parameter to describe changes of colour over time, with a clear link to the maturation process. No significant effects of row orientation and training system on skin colour were observed at harvest. Overall, the device proved reliable for fruit colour detection. Results of this study highlight the potential of h° as a quantitative index to monitor ripening prior to harvest in ‘Majestic Pearl’ nectarines.

Phytohormones that trigger or repress flower meristem development in apple buds are thought to be locally emitted from adjacent plant tissues, including leaves and fruitlets. The presence of fruitlets is known to inhibit adjacent buds from forming flowers and thus fruits. The resulting absence of fruitlets the following season restores flower-promoting signalling to the new buds. The cycle can lead to a biennial bearing behaviour of alternating crop loads in a branch or tree. The hormonal stimuli that elicit flowering is typically referred to as the floral induction (FI) phase in bud meristem development. To determine the metabolic pathways activated in FI, young trees of the cultivar ‘Ruby Matilda’ were subjected to zonal crop load treatments imposed to two leaders of bi-axis trees in the 2020/2021 season. Buds were collected over the expected FI phase, which is within 60 DAFB. Metabolomics profiling was undertaken to determine the differentially expressed pathways and key signalling molecules associated with FI in the leader and at tree level. Pronounced metabolic differences were observed in trees and leaders with high return bloom with significant increases in compounds belonging to the cytokinin, abscisic acid (ABA), phenylpropanoid and flavanol chemical classes. The presence of cytokinins, namely adenosine, inosine and related derivatives, as well as ABA phytohormones, provides further insight into the chemical intervention opportunities for future crop load management strategies via plant growth regulators.