Search results for " Quality"
showing 10 items of 3133 documents
Quality Factors Influencing Consumer Demand for Small Fruit by Focus Group and Sensory Test
2017
ABSTRACTThe market of berries is a niche of high value in Italy. Small fruit’s healthy properties are well known in the international market, but little is known about the reason for a low commercialization rate of fresh small fruit in Italy. The objective of this study was to assess consumer preferences in Italy for selected berry species. Moreover, the study aims to identify the relevant attributes of berries that affect the demand for this produce according to consumers and to compare these attributes. We assessed relevant attributes affecting the demand for fresh berries for different consumers’ profiles and compared berries’ attributes rankings. The results reveal high concordance betw…
Influence of an evoked pleasant consumption context on consumers’ hedonic evaluation for minimally processed cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit
2016
Awareness of the need to consider a consumption context when measuring the consumer's hedonic evaluation of a food product led researchers to investigate differences among responses given by consumers in different contexts. Previous studies measured the effects of evoking a consumption context, by using photographs or a written scenario, on hedonic evaluations of consumers for food products. This study investigated the influence of evoking a consumption context on hedonic evaluation of minimally processed cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit, using pictures and memories of pleasant personal experiences. A hedonic scale method for measuring food preferences was used. Hedonic evaluation o…
Metabolic profiling and post-harvest behavior of “dottato” fig (Ficus carica L.) fruit covered with an edible coating from O. ficus-indica
2018
Fig fruits are usually highly sensitive to some physiopathological disorders during post-harvest life, such as softening and skin cracking. Indeed, the use of edible coating (EC) has been evaluated in several fruit crops to reduce fruit post-harvest transpiration and to maintain fruit visual quality. The aim of this study was to determine the post-harvest metabolic response of breba figs treated with mucilage extract from O. ficus-indica cladodes, using an untargeted metabolomic approach. Coated and non coated (control) fruit were sealed in plastic bags, and stored at 4 °C for 7 days. The effect of the edible coatings on their quality fruit during cold storage and qualitative attributes wer…
Genetic diversity in a collection of Italian long storage tomato landraces as revealed by SNP markers array
2019
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide. In this study, we used 7720 genome-wide SNPs to characterize the genetic diversity within a tomato germplasm collection enriched with 64 accessions from southern Italy of the so called "da serbo" type i.e. drought-tolerant and long storage landraces. Notwithstanding the relatively small collection area, 1575 (20.4%) polymorphic SNPs, mostly on Chr11, detected considerable levels of genetic variation. Maximum parsimony analysis of genetic distance revealed four main clusters and clearly separated most "da serbo" landraces from the outgroups. One of the clusters grouped the landraces from the Mount Vesuvius area, t…
NMD-Based Gene Regulation—A Strategy for Fitness Enhancement in Plants?
2019
Abstract Post-transcriptional RNA quality control is a vital issue for all eukaryotes to secure accurate gene expression, both on a qualitative and quantitative level. Among the different mechanisms, nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is an essential surveillance system that triggers degradation of both aberrant and physiological transcripts. By targeting a substantial fraction of all transcripts for degradation, including many alternative splicing variants, NMD has a major impact on shaping transcriptomes. Recent progress on the transcriptome-wide profiling and physiological analyses of NMD-deficient plant mutants revealed crucial roles for NMD in gene regulation and environmental response…
UV-screening and springtime recovery of photosynthetic capacity in leaves of Vaccinium vitis-idaea above and below the snow pack
2019
International audience; Evergreen plants in boreal biomes undergo seasonal hardening and dehardening adjusting their photosynthetic capacity and photoprotection; acclimating to seasonal changes in temperature and irradiance. Leaf epidermal ultraviolet (UV)-screening by flavonols responds to solar radiation, perceived in part through increased ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, and is a candidate trait to provide cross-photoprotection. At Hyytiälä Forestry Station, central Finland, we examined whether the accumulation of flavonols was higher in leaves of Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. growing above the snowpack compared with those below the snowpack. We found that leaves exposed to colder temperature…
Sperm Quality Assessment in Honey Bee Drones
2020
The quality of honey bee drone semen is relevant in different contexts, ranging from colony productivity to pathology, toxicology and biodiversity preservation. Despite its importance, considerably less knowledge is available on this subject for the honey bee when compared to other domestic animal species. A proper assessment of sperm quality requires a multiple testing approach which discriminates between the different aspects of sperm integrity and functionality. Most studies on drone semen quality have only assessed a few parameters, such as sperm volume, sperm concentration and/or sperm plasma membrane integrity. Although more recent studies have focused on a broader variety of aspects …
Protein hydrolysates and mo-biofortification interactively modulate plant performance and quality of ‘canasta’ lettuce grown in a protected environme…
2021
Since the use of protein hydrolysates (PHs) enhances overall plant performance and quality of vegetables, they might be considered as a toll to face a number of concerns essentially associated to the growing request of premium quality foodstuff realized in agreement with eco-friendly agriculture practices. Molybdenum (Mo) is considered a fundamental trace element for human body. Thus, its shortage determines several disorders mainly related to neurological lesion and esophageal cancer. Biofortification of fruiting and leafy vegetables is a promising tool to prevent Mo deficiency in the human diet. The current study was carried out to assess the interactive effect of plant-derived PHs and Mo…
Extending the Shelf Life of White Peach Fruit with 1-Methylcyclopropene and Aloe arborescens Edible Coating
2020
The maintenance of high-quality standards for prolonging the shelf life of fruit and preserving sensory and nutritional quality is a priority for horticultural products. The aim of this work is to test the effectiveness of a single treatment of edible coating based on Aloe arborescens (EC) and a combined treatment of 1-methylcycyclopropene (1-MCP) and edible coating to prolong the shelf life of &ldquo
The rhizosphere of mycorrhizal plants
2002
Providing that appropriate carbon substrates are available, microbial communities are able to develop a range of activities which are crucial in maintaining a biological balance in soil (Bowen and Rovira 1999), a key issue for the sustainability of either natural ecosystems or agroecosystems (Kennedy and Smith 1995). Soil-borne microbes have a particular microhabitat in which to flourish. In particular, they are bound to the surface of soil particles or found in soil aggregates, while others interact specifically with the plant root system (Glick 1995). The root-soil interface is actually a dynamic changing environment, a microcosm where microorganisms, plant roots and soil constituents int…