Effect of Preharvest Calcium Treatments on Sweet Cherry Fruit Quality

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are defined as sequence repeat units between 1 and 6 bp that occur in both coding and non-coding regions abundant in eukaryotic genomes, which may affect the expression of genes. In this study, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of eight Prunus species were analyzed for in silico mining of EST-SSRs, protein annotation, and open reading frames (ORFs), and the identification of codon repetitions. A total of 316 SSRs were identified using MISA software. Dinucleotide SSR motifs (26.31 %) were found to be the most abundant type of repeats, followed by tri- (14.58 %), tetra- (0.53 %), and penta- (0.27 %) nucleotide motifs. An attempt was made to design primer pairs for 316 identified SSRs but these were successful for only 175 SSR sequences. The positions of SSRs with respect to ORFs were detected, and annotation of sequences containing SSRs was performed to assign function to each sequence. SSRs were also characterized (in terms of position in the reference genome and associated gene) using the two available Prunus reference genomes (mei and peach). Finally, 38 SSR markers were validated across peach, almond, plum, and apricot genotypes. This validation showed a higher transferability level of EST-SSR developed in P. mume (mei) in comparison with the rest of species analyzed. Findings will aid analysis of functionally important molecular markers and facilitate the analysis of genetic diversity.

A good peach fruit should have properties of high quality, as these properties directly affect the shelf life. This study aims to determine the effects of different salicylic acid (SA) treatments in the pre-harvest period on the ‘Cresthaven’ peach cultivar on the fruit quality at harvest and after storage at 2°C (8 days) plus shelf life at 20°C (2 days). Fruits with SA treatments have better characteristics such as fruit weight, fruit flesh firmness, total antioxidant content, total phenol content and titratable acidity level at harvest and after storage plus shelf life. With treatments, no changes were observed in the total soluble solids both at harvest and after storage plus shelf life. SA treatments decreased loss of fruit flesh firmness and loss of acidity after shelf life, compared with the control. In fruits with 2 mM SA acid treatment, the reduction in fruit firmness and acidity loss were the least, and as a result of the study it was determined as the most effective pre-harvest SA concentration that could be used in the ‘Cresthaven’ peach variety.

Due to the soft texture of the nectarine fruit, there are difficulties in long-term storage of this fruit. Therefore, it is of great importance to extend the postharvest storage period of this fruit species. In this study, the effect of postharvest OA (Oxalic acid) applications (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM) on the quality and biochemical contents of nectarine fruits was investigated. On the 40th day of storage, 1.5 mM OA doses reduced weight loss (1.96%) and fruit flesh firmness (36 N) by approximately 44% and 20%, respectively, compared to the control group. The most effective dose in reducing the respiratory rate was again 1.5 mM OA. The 1 mM OA dose was determined to prevent the decay rate approximately by 16% compared to the control group. Organic acid contents showed a continuous decreasing trend during storage and malic acid was determined to be the dominant acid in nectarine fruits. At the end of storage, it was determined that a 1.5 mM OA dose prevented the decrease in malic acid content approximately 35% more than the control group. Chlorogenic acid and rutin were detected at a higher rate than other phenolics. It was observed that 1.5 mM OA dose prevented the breakdown of chlorogenic acid and rutin compounds more so than other doses during storage. In this study, it was determined that a 1.5 mM OA dose especially protected the quality properties and biochemical contents of nectarine fruits in the cold storage more than the control group.

Tr en Kiraz meyvelerinin fiziksel ve kimyasal özellikleri, çeşitlere göre önemli farklılıklar gösterebilmektedir. Kiraz çeşitlerinin bu kalite özellikleri yetiştirildiği ekolojilere göre değişebilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, İzmir ili Kemalpaşa ilçesinde yetiştiriciliği yapılmakta olan bazı önemli kiraz çeşitlerinin fiziksel ve kimyasal özelliklerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu bölgedeki Prunus mahaleb L. anaçları üzerine aşılı Bing, Early Burlat, Early Lory, Napolyon, Sapıkısa, Stella, Regina, 0900 Ziraat kiraz çeşitlerinden tam olum döneminde hasat edilen meyvelerde bazı ölçüm ve analizler yapılmıştır. Regina ve 0900 Ziraat çeşitlerinin meyve çapı, meyve ağırlığı, meyve sertliği, saptan kopma kuvveti diğer çeşitlere göre yüksek bulunmuş, Sapıkısa kiraz çeşidinde ise bu parametrelerin düşük olduğu belirlenmiştir. Renk parametrelerinden C* ve h° değeri Stella ve Bing çeşitlerinde en yüksek olmuştur. Napolyon kiraz çeşidinin suda çözünür kuru madde ve toplam fenol miktarı bakımından en yüksek bulunmuş, çeşitlere göre bu parametreler sırasıyla %9.86-%16.13 ve 83.4-99.8 mg GAE/100 g arasında değişmiştir. Bing kiraz çeşidinin TA miktarı en yüksek, pH değeri ise en düşük bulunmuştur. Early Lorry kiraz çeşidinin antioksidan aktivitesi en yüksek ( 15.19 µmol TE/g), 0900 Ziraat çeşidinin ise en düşük (9.77 µmol TE/g) olmuştur. Bu çalışma ile Kemalpaşa yöresinde yetiştirilen önemli kiraz çeşitlerinin bazı fiziksel ve kimyasal kalite özellikleri bakımından önemli farklılıklar ortaya konulmuştur. Physical and chemical properties of cherry fruits, which are quality indicators of cultivars, may differ greatly among cherry cultivars depending on the cultivation ecology. In this study, we aimed to determine the physical and chemical properties of some important cherry cultivars grown in Kemalpaşa County of Izmir Province, Turkey. We determined physical and chemical characteristics of cherry cultivars harvested at full maturity in the Kemalpaşa region. These included Bing, Early Burlat, Early Lory, Napolyon (also known as Napoleon), Sapıkısa, Stella, Regina and 0900 Ziraat cherry cultivars grafted onto Ziraat Prunus mahaleb L. rootstocks. The Regina and 0900 Ziraat cultivars had the highest fruit diameter, fruit weight, fruit firmness and tensile strength, whereas the Sapıkısa cherry cultivar yielded the lowest results for the same parameters. The Stella and Bing cultivars showed the highest C* and h° values for color parameters. The Napolyon cherry cultivar had the highest water-soluble dry matter and total phenol content; based on individual cultivars, these parameters varied from 9.86% to 16.13% and from 83.4 to 99.8 mg GAE/100 g, respectively. The Bing cherry cultivar had the highest TA content, whereas it had the lowest pH value. The Early Lory cherry cultivar yielded the highest antioxidant activity ( 15.19 µmol TE/g) , whereas the 0900 Ziraat cultivar yielded the lowest activity (9.77 µmol TE/g). This study revealed significant differences in several of the physical and chemical properties of important cherry cultivars grown in the Kemalpaşa region.