Search results for "Fruit"

Quality determinants of avocado fruit consumption in italy. Implications for small farms

2018

In recent years there has been an increasing consumer interest towards tropical fruits due to the desire of consumers for healthy eating while experiencing new and exotic flavours. Within this consumer trend, avocado fruit presents great potential in order to meet the requirements desired by consumers due to its high nutritional value and particular quality characteristics. The aim of the present study is to understand which quality determinants influence consumers’ decision making to consume avocado fruit in Italy. In the literature, avocado is a fruit few investigate from a consumers’ quality perception perspective. Therefore, understanding consumer preference for avocado fruit may be con…

CAN COOPETITION BE A WINNING STRATEGY FOR SMALL FRUITS PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN SICILY?

2013

In the last few years the agriculture sector has shown a significant slowdown due to economic crisis. On the one hand, the reduction in the purchasing power of households has determined a decrease in the demand for food and agricultural products, on the other hand, there has been a reduction in the income of the farmers. This has inevitably led to implement business strategies to counter the exponential reduction in profitability required to survive in an increasingly competitive environment. The literature on corporate strategies is particularly large, however, the majority of authors identify competition and cooperation as "the driving forces" for economic and social progress (Hurta and H…

Preliminary evaluation of sixPrunusrootstocks for peach in Italy

2018

In Italy, the evaluation of rootstocks is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and carried out in a network of trials along the Country. This study evaluated growth and yield performance of ‘Big Top’ nectarine and ‘Rome Star’ peach grafted on six rootstocks of different origin and vigor, namely GF677 (the most widespread in Italy), Garnem, Adesoto, RootPac®20, RootPac®40, and RootPac®90, in three different locations, Castelvetrano (Sicily), Forlì and Cesena (Emilia-Romagna). Yield, number of fruits, trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), average fruit weight, flesh firmness, soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA) were determined at the third leaf (2015). In all sites, tree…

Yield and profitability of modified spanish bush and Y-trellis training systems for peach

2015

Peach trees trained to modified Spanish bush (MSB) and Y-trellis (Y) were evaluated and compared in the Mediterranean settings of Southern Italy. The observations included two peach (Rich May and Summer Rich) and two nectarine (Big Bang and Nectaross) cultivars. In the MSB system, trees were spaced at 4.5 x 2.5 m (888 trees/ha), whereas in the Y system, trees were spaced at 5.5 x 2 m (909 trees/ha). Costs at planting, yield per tree, fruit size grade, unit price of sold peaches for each size grade, amount and cost of materials and labor for cultural management, and grower's profit were quantified throughout all six years from planting and at full crop (year 4-6). Fixed costs of the MSB syst…

CHEMICAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF FIVE LOQUAT CULTIVARS

2015

Fruit quality can be evaluated by combining chemical-physical and sensory analyses. In this trial, both instrumental and sensory analyses were carried out on fruit of 5 loquat cultivars (‘Nespolone di Trabia’, ‘Sanfilippara’, ‘Virticchiara’, ‘MarcenA²â€™ and ‘Golden Nugget’), with the aim of assessing their commercial quality. Fruit weight, transversal and longitudinal diameter, total soluble solid content (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) were measured. In addition, a sensory profile of each cultivar was defined by a trained panel, which generated 16 attributes. The highest fruit weight was found in ‘Golden Nugget’ and ‘Sanfilippara’; the latter exhibited also th…

GIBBERELLINS REGULATE CELL DIVISION AND PARTHENOCARPIC FRUIT SET IN CITRUS

Fruit set and growth is regulated by hormones interaction, gibberellins (GA) being a main part of the process in Citrus. Actually, it is well known the time-course of GA content in the citrus ovary during flowering and its correlation with fruit set in both seeded and seedless species. However, GA endogenous role is uncertain. Is GA in the ovary a direct regulator or an indirect part of the hormonal stimuli that reactivates and maintains cell division triggering fruit set? While in seeded varieties GA synthesis that occurs in fertilized ovules is the primary stimulus controlling early ovary development, is there any specific tissue-dependent regulation of parthenocarpy? While initiation of …

Effects of Rapid Refrigeration and Modified Atmosphere Packaging on Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Fruit Quality Traits

2017

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a tropical fruit characterized by a rapid pericarp browning and dehydration during postharvest, resulting in an accelerated shelf life and in a loss of consumer appreciation and consequently of its market value. The aim of our study was to assess litchi fruit chemical-physical and sensory quality changes during postharvest and shelf life using rapid refrigeration (RR) and active modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Litchi fruits were picked at commercial harvest and were divided in 4 groups: not treated fruit (CTR); rapid refrigerated fruit (RRF); modified atmosphere packed fruit (MAP); hydrogen peroxide treated and modified atmosphere packed fruit (MAP+).…

Foliar Applications with SUNRED® Biostimulant Advance and Uniform Fruit Ripening in Orange and Olive

2015

This study evaluated the effect of foliar biostimulants on fruit quality of adult 'Valencia' orange and 'Biancolilla' olive trees. Half of the selected orange and olive trees were sprayed twice before harvest with the SUNRED® commercial mix containing phenylalanine, methionine, mono-saccharides and oxylipins from plant extracts as well as potassium salts and urea. Orange and olive yields and fruit quality were measured at harvest, and fruit peel color was determined by digital image analysis. Phenolic and sensory profiles were also determined in the olive oil. In orange, the foliar spray increased TSS:acid ratio and peel color uniformity, while in olive, it increased peel color uniformity, …

Responses of apple to partial root-zone drying. A review.

2013

Partial root-zone drying (PRD) is a relatively recent strategy aiming at substantial reduction of irrigation volume. It consists of the alternate irrigation of one portion of the root-zone with volumes reduced to about 40-50% of conventional water. PRD is based on the ability of roots in drying soil to produce hormonal signals, like abscissic acid (ABA), responsible for partial stomatal closure. In turn, partial stomatal closure would improve water use efficiency and increase fruit yield per unit of irrigation water. This technique has been tested on a number of fruit crops, including apple. In addition to climatic conditions, which mainly affect atmospheric water demand, soil properties an…

EFFECT OF FRUIT-SET TIME ON THE QUALITY PERFORMANCE OF ANNONA CHERIMOLA MILL. FRUIT

2019

The aim of this work was to analyze the differences between fruits obtained by different dates of fruit set and identify the proper fruit-set time that allows to obtain the optimum fruit quality in Annona cherimola cv Fino de Jete, planted in Southern Italy. Six fruit-set dates were selected from the first week of June to the second week of July. Fruits were sampled from October to November, when 1500 Growing Degree Days (DD) were accumulated; The DD were calculated using a base temperature of 12 °C. Fruit fresh weight (FW) and skin colour were measured. These parameters were measured also after storage, and in addition, the following parameters were measured: fruit shape (FS), pulp colour,…