Postharvest Loss, Causes, and Handling Practices of Fruits and Vegetables in Ethiopia: Scoping ReviewEtefa, Obse F.; Forsido, Sirawdink F.; Kebede, Mathewos T.
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0002
AbstractFruits and vegetables are the horticultural crops playing a significant role in Ethiopia's food security, livelihood, and economy. However, the postharvest loss results are a severe challenge for the producers, and this review summarizes this problem. The total postharvest loss of horticultural crops, including fruits and vegetables, at various stages: harvesting, storage, transportation, and marketing ranges from 15 to 70%. Postharvest loss of vegetables alone is about 40%. Fruits like mango, banana, papaya, avocado, sweet orange, etc., take the largest share of the total postharvest loss. The postharvest causes of losses are diseases, insects, rodents, thefts, mechanical damage, premature harvesting, harvesting of overmature crops, improper harvesting and storage techniques, shortage of appropriate packaging and marketing system, seasonal fluctuation of the products, and gender inequality. Therefore, applying a possible and convenient loss reduction strategy is imperative to increase the supply of fruits and vegetables in the country.
Plant and Human Pathogenic Bacteria Exchanging their Primary Host EnvironmentsSobiczewski, Piotr; Iakimova, Elena T.
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0009
AbstractAdaptation of plant and human pathogenic bacteria to niches of existence differing from their original ones is a sophisticated mechanism for survival. Research indicates that certain plant bacterial pathogens are capable of causing disease in humans, and some human bacterial pathogens can inhabit the plant environment and cause disease in plants. The infection of humans by plant bacteria may occur at direct physical contact with diseased plants and/or via the respiratory tract in mainly immunocompromised or otherwise stressed individuals. Indirect transmitters of plant and human microbes can be wind, rain, dust, insects, and animals. Human pathogenic bacteria may contaminate the soil and irrigation water, colonize the rhizosphere, more rarely also the phyllosphere, and can survive as epiphytes. Thus, the plant environment may become a reservoir of human pathogens. A source of foodborne human pathogenic bacteria can be unprocessed or unwashed fruits and vegetables. Especially during the last decade, the processes underlying the cross-kingdom performance of pathogenic bacteria are intensively researched. However, in reality, the risk for human health at infections by plant bacteria and by human bacterial pathogens surviving in the plant environment is still underestimated. The goal of the current review is to increase the interest in these issues in agricultural and general environments. Some basic strategies for infection and symptoms of diseases caused by the microorganisms under consideration are described. The potency of certain plant bacterial pathogens to surpass barriers towards humans and the interaction of human bacterial pathogens with the plant environment are addressed and the existing information is critically discussed.
Plant Parasitic Nematodes on Paulownia tomentosa in PolandSkwiercz, Andrzej Tomasz; Zapałowska, Anita; Flis, Łukasz; Koc-Jurczyk, Justyna; Jurczyk, Łukasz; Litwińczuk, Wojciech; Puchalski, Czesław
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0010
AbstractShort-rotation woody plants of the genus Paulownia are attracting more and more attention as trees that produce biomass and reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, plants growing in monoculture affect the properties and condition of the soil. One of the effects of changes in the soil environment is the growing population of plant parasitic nematodes (PPN). The article presents information about the PPN inhabiting the root zone of the Paulownia tomentosa plantation in Poland. In this study, the frequency and density of nematode populations in samples from seven plantations in Poland were determined. The extracted nematodes were identified at the species level on the basis of the male and female morphological characteristics according to several available identification resources. A total of 20 nematode species were identified, of which 9 were classified as accessory and 11 as occasional. Among them, Trichodorus viruliferus and Longidorus attenuatus belonging to the group of viral messengers were identified.
The Occurrence of Stereum hirsutum Associated with Wood Rotting of Olive Trees in IranPeighami Ashnaei, Samira; Jafary, Hossein; Afshari Azad, Homayoun
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0003
AbstractIn summer 2021 (June–July), disease symptoms on trunks and shoots were observed in olive groves in the Tarom Sofla region, Qazvin province, Iran. The symptoms were light-pink discoloration and surface depression in the external layers of the wood. As the disease progressed, brown streaks of tissue appeared on the longitudinal sections of the wood. The identification of fungus was made based on PCR amplification of the rDNA-ITS region with the universal fungal primers ITS5 and ITS4. BLAST searches revealed 99.52% identity to Stereum hirsutum. Several species of basidiomycetes are known to live on wood as saprobionts or parasites. On olive trees, they cause white rot symptoms. Although they are not directly responsible for tree mortality; however, they can lead to structural deterioration of woody tissues. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of S. hirsutum associated with wood rotting of olive trees in the world.
Development and Optimization of a System for the Extraction, Filtration, and Concentration of Date Fruit Syrup to Produce High-Quality DipsHamad, Siddig H.; Al Saikhan, Mohamed; Babeker, Mohamed
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0001
AbstractA system for the extraction, filtration, and concentration of date fruit syrup was developed. The syrup was first extracted under 1000 mbar and under partial vacuums of −1.8, −2.8, and −5.5 mbar in an extractor developed by the authors, then filtered using a filtration ladder of 1.0, 0.25, 0.112, and 0.011-mm pore sizes and finally concentrated to the product known as a dip in the Arab world. The concentration of the syrup to dip was done in a rotary evaporator at 50 °C and 180 rpm for 9–11 hours and under direct sun rays at approximately 48 °C, placed in stainless steel trays (61 × 46 × 5 cm) for 4 hours (12:30–4:30 p.m. The quality of dip produced under sun evaporation was compared to that of a commercial one collected from the markets in Saudi Arabia and was found to be superior due to two decisive criteria, namely color (the appearance) and pH (the taste), and also in terms of other nutritional components.
Shelf-Life Prediction of Citrus Lemon Using a Multivariate Accelerated Shelf-Life Testing (MASLT) ApproachHasbullah, Rokhani; Ismail, Egy R.
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0005
AbstractThe shelf life of agricultural products is characterized by several quality parameters simultaneously. Estimating the shelf life using the multivariate accelerated shelf-life testing (MASLT) approach is expected to provide a more accurate shelf-life prediction. This research aims to examine the effect of temperature storage on lemon fruit quality and predict their shelf life with the MASLT approach. A total of 21 lemons for each treatment (storage temperatures) were washed and stored at 25, 35, and 45 °C. Changes in the quality of lemons were observed every day for 7 days, including moisture content, weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids, and color. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to simplify many experimental lemon quality parameters to form a new coordinate system with maximum variance through linear transformation to form a new coordinate system with maximum variance. The results showed that 91.3% of the variance of all observational data could be explained by the first principal component (PC1). Multivariate kinetics of quality parameter changes following a zero-order reaction. The plot of ln km against 1/T shows a multivariate activation energy value (Ea) of 62.99 kJ·mol−1 with a pre-exponential factor (k0) of 3.87 × 1010 PC1 score per day. The reaction acceleration factor (Q10) based on storage temperatures of 35 °C and 45 °C is 2.17. The results of the predicted shelf life at cold temperatures (10 °C) and room temperature (25 °C) were 60.0 days and 18.8 days, respectively.
Seed Germination of Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) Depending on the Age of Seeds and Hybridization PartnersMasny, Agnieszka; Kubik, Jolanta; Żurawicz, Edward
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0007
AbstractResearch was carried out on the germination of seeds obtained from crossings between the cultivars of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) ‘Sokolica’, ‘Willamette’, ‘Veten’, ‘Canby’ and ‘Glen Ample’ depending on the age of the seeds. The crossings were performed in the winter–spring of 2015–2018 in a heated greenhouse. The obtained seeds were stored dry in paper bags at a temperature of 4–5 °C. In January 2019, seeds were scarified and then cold stratified for 50 days and seeded in pots in a greenhouse. The seedling emergence was assessed 60 days after sowing. The seeds produced in 2015 had the lowest germination percentage (14% on average for all combinations of crosses), while the seeds produced in 2018 had a germination rate of 44.9%. Significant differences were also observed in the emergence of seedlings from different combinations. On average, the fewest seedlings were obtained from the combination ‘Glen Ample’ × ‘Willamette’ and the most from ‘Sokolica’ × ‘Willamette’.
Ability of Three Pleurotus Species for Effective use of Giant Grass CompostNiyimbabazi, Obed; Nsanzinshuti, Aimable; Hatungimana, Mediatrice; Lin, Hui; Zhang, Lili; Lin, Dongmei; Zhanxi, Lin
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0006
AbstractPennisetum sinese is a giant grass with a fast-growing and high rooting rate, high sugar, protein content, and high biomass yield, which causes it to be an efficient and economic energy crop of high productivity, application in phytoremediation, and fodder production. The composting system of this grass that is adapted to the simplest formulation is easy and economically feasible in small farms for cultivating oyster mushrooms. In this study, giant grass compost was employed as a substrate for cultivating three Pleurotus species: P. florida, P. pulmonarius, and P. ostreatus to assess their enzyme activities, growth, and yields. Lignin peroxidase (LiP) was the most active enzyme in each species, while other enzymes were differently expressed between species and developmental phases. The average mass of fruiting bodies formed on the giant grass compost was 173.4 g, 166.5 g, and 152.2 g. The biological effectivity was 82.6%, 78.6%, and 72.5% for P. pulmonarius, P. ostreatus, and P. florida, respectively. The obtained results indicate the usefulness of giant grass compost for the cultivation of the three studied Pleurotus species.
Effects of Environmental Stresses on the Growth of Arabidopsis thaliana Rosette LeavesJiao, Xiang; Peng, Chenchen; Zhang, Huichun; Huang, Zhihui; Zhao, Yan
2022 Journal of Horticultural Research
doi: 10.2478/johr-2022-0008
AbstractPlant growth is constantly affected by biotic and abiotic stresses, which are especially expressed in plant leaves. Therefore, leaf phenotype is considered to be an important indicator of phenotypic plasticity in plants. The effects of various growth environmental factors on the final size of Arabidopsis thaliana rosette leaves and the number of leaves were analyzed in orthogonal tests using image analysis, and growth curves were estimated statistically. Finally, the optimum growth environment for A. thaliana Col-0 was determined. In this study, temperature, humidity, and light intensity were chosen as factors and studied at the three levels each (temperature: 22 °C, 25 °C, 28 °C; humidity: 50%, 65%, 80%; light intensity: 92 μmol·m−2·s−1; 184 μmol·m−2·s−1; 278 μmol·m−2·s−1). The results showed that light intensity was a major factor in the final leaf size, whereas for the number of plant leaves the most important was temperature. According to the major and minor order of environmental factors, the following scheme appeared to be optimal for A. thaliana growth: temperature 22 °C, humidity 50%, illumination intensity 184 μmol·m−2·s−1.