Modeling the Effects of Seed Maturity on Cooking Time of 'Dimitra' Lentils.

The lentil is a valuable crop for human nutrition and is cooked to adequate softening prior to consumption. The objective of the study was to use a model to point out the effects of seed maturity on optimum cooking time (OCT). Two lentil seed samples (cv 'Dimitra') exhibiting short (SCT) and long (LCT) cooking times (CT) were visually separated into brown- and green-colored categories, corresponding to mature and immature seeds, respectively.

Biochemical and histological contributions to textural changes in watermelon fruit modulated by grafting.

Increased watermelon fruit flesh firmness is systematically incurred with grafting on Cucurbita hybrid rootstocks (heterografting). Possible differences in mesocarp cell wall constitution and histology between heterografted, homeografted (self-grafted) and non-grafted watermelon were examined, as well as their contributions to fruit texture. Firmness correlated positively (r=0.

Phenotypic characterization of qualitative parameters and antioxidant contents in peach and nectarine fruit and changes after jam preparation.

Background: Sugars and antioxidants in peaches contribute to fresh fruit quality and nutrition; however, information on widely grown cultivars and changes induced after peach jam preparation is limited. In the present study, colour, sugars and antioxidant parameters were determined in fruit and jam from 45 peach and nectarine cultivars.

Results: Pronounced varietal differences were found in sorbitol (42-fold range), total phenolics (TPs) and antioxidant capacities (10- to 19-fold range).

Configuration of watermelon fruit quality in response to rootstock-mediated harvest maturity and postharvest storage.

Background: The configuration of watermelon fruit quality was analysed in a multi-factorial approach accounting for the effects of grafting, harvest maturity and postharvest storage. Diploid, seeded, hybrid cv. Pegasus, cultivated as scion on interspecific hybrid squash rootstock TZ148 and as non-grafted control, was stored at 25 °C following sequential harvests from the onset of ripening to over-maturity.

Salt-stressed fresh cut leek accelerates CO₂ and C₂H₄ production and enhances the development of quality characteristics of traditional Greek sausages during storage.

Fresh cut leek was mixed with salt for 0.5 (IM) and 5 (LM) min or remained untreated (control) and stored alone or mixed with minced meat and seasonings, cased and stored at 15 °C for 7 days. The fresh cut leek and sausage metabolics and sausage microbiological and physicochemical traits were measured during storage.

The effects of fruit maturation, delayed storage and ethylene treatment on the incidence of low-temperature breakdown of 'Hayward' kiwifruit.

Background: Low-temperature breakdown (LTB), a disorder inducing quality loss, during and after cold storage of 'Hayward' kiwifruit was investigated. Harvested kiwifruits during fruit maturation or after delayed storage (DS) at 20 °C for 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks and 1 µL L⁻¹ ethylene treatment for 24 h were stored at -0.5 °C for 24 weeks and additional ripening at 20 °C for 5 days.

Effects of genetic, pre- and post-harvest factors on phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of white asparagus spears.

The effects of genetic, pre-harvest (season of harvest, spear diameter, spear portion and spear tip color) and post-harvest factors (storage and domestic preparation practices, e.g., peeling and cooking) on total phenolic, flavonoid and ascorbic acid content of white asparagus spears and their correlation with antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP) were studied.

Identification and expression profiling of low oxygen regulated genes from Citrus flavedo tissues using RT-PCR differential display.

The molecular basis for the adaptation of fruit tissues to low oxygen treatments remains largely unknown. RT-PCR differential display (DD) was employed to isolate anoxic and/or hypoxic genes whose expression responded to short, low-oxygen regimes. This approach led to the isolation, cloning, successful sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis of 98 transcripts from Citrus flavedo tissues that were differentially expressed in DD gels in response to 0, 0.

Molecular characterization and expression studies during melon fruit development and ripening of L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase.

The last step of ascorbic acid (AA) biosynthesis is catalysed by the enzyme L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase (GalLDH, EC 1.3.2.

Isolation of a dehydrin cDNA from orange and grapefruit citrus fruit that is specifically induced by the combination of heat followed by chilling temperatures.

Dehydrins (DHNs; late embryogenesis abundant D-11) are a family of plant proteins induced in response to environmental stresses such as water stress, salinity and freezing or which occur during the late stages of embryogenesis. Previously, it was reported that citrus contains a small gene family encoding a unique class of dehydrins that differs from most other plant dehydrins in various respects, such as having an unusual K-segment similar to that of gymnosperms. In the present study, we identified by cDNA differential display analysis a 'Navel' orange 202-bp polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragment, which encoded the typical plant angiosperm-type K-segment consensus sequence, and of which the expression was down-regulated by exposure to low oxygen levels.