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Harvest Season (harvest + season)
Selected AbstractsDRYING EFFECTS OF TWO AIR-DRYING SHELTERS IN A PILOT TEST ON SULTANA GRAPESJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2010LINGLING LI ABSTRACT The drying effects of sultana grapes in two different air-drying shelters were tested and analyzed. Ten different thin-layer drying mathematical models were compared according to their coefficients of determination and,2test. The Wang and Singh model was found to be the most suitable for describing the air-drying curves of sultana grapes. As compared with the local traditional shelter, the reformed shelter with a greenhouse can reduce about 12,18% of air-drying time, increase about 23% in green-grade rate of raisins and increase 33% in the effective moisture diffusivity of sultana grapes. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Grapes are one of the most popular and palatable fruits in the world. The preservation of grapes by drying is a major industry in many parts of the world where grapes are grown. Drying grapes, either by open sun drying, shade drying or mechanical drying, produces raisins. Air-drying of solar energy has been demonstrated to be cost-effective and could be an effective alternative to traditional and mechanical drying systems, especially in locations with good sunshine during the harvest season. The traditional air-drying shelter of grapes has been used for thousands of years in Asia and other places around the world. However, less investigation was done about the drying characteristics and the optimization of the shelter. The work of this manuscript provides interesting information that is useful for design of the drying shelter of raisins and for the improvement of raisin quality, especially using air-drying of solar energy. [source] Chemical Characterization of Orange Juice from Trees Infected with Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing)JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010Lilibeth Dagulo ABSTRACT:, The effects due to,Candidatus,Liberibacter infection, commonly called citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB), on volatile and nonvolatile components of orange juices, OJ, were examined using GC-MS and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HLB symptomatic, asymptomatic, and control "Hamlin" and "Valencia" oranges were harvested from December to May during the 2007 to 2008 harvest season. Brix/acid levels in control and asymptomatic juices were similar but symptomatic juices were as much as 62% lower than control juices. No bitter flavanone neohesperidosides were detected and polymethoxyflavone concentrations were well below bitter taste thresholds. Limonin concentrations were significantly higher (91% to 425%) in symptomatic juice compared to control but still below juice bitterness taste thresholds. Juice terpenes, such as ,-terpinene and ,-terpinolene, were as much as 1320% and 62% higher in symptomatic juice than control. Average ethyl butanoate concentrations were 45% lower and average linalool was 356% higher in symptomatic Valencia OJ compared to control. Symptomatic Valencia OJ had on average only 40% the total esters, 48% the total aldehydes, and 33% as much total sesquiterpenes as control juice. Total volatiles between control and symptomatic juices were similar due to elevated levels of alcohols and terpenes in symptomatic juice. There were no consistent differences between asymptomatic and control juices. The chemical composition of juice from HLB/greening symptomatic fruit appears to mimic that of juice from less mature fruit. The reported off-flavor associated with symptomatic juices probably stem from lower concentrations of sugars, higher concentrations of acid as all known citrus bitter compounds were either below taste thresholds or absent. [source] Descriptive sensory analysis of light, medium, and dark colored kernels of black walnut cultivarsJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 11 2009Michele R Warmund Abstract BACKGROUND: Kernels of black walnut trees (Juglans nigra L.) are characterized by their unique fruity, woody, musty and sweet flavors. While most of the crop is produced from native trees, an increasing volume of kernels is harvested from grafted trees of improved cultivars. Cultivars produce nuts with desirable cracking qualities and have larger kernel size than those of native trees. However, kernel color of black walnuts can be variable due to time of harvest and hulling. The objective of this study was to evaluate flavor attributes of light, medium and dark colored kernels of Emma K, Kwik Krop, Sparks 127 and wild black walnut trees. RESULTS: Eighteen flavor terms were used for descriptive analysis of walnut kernels. Floral/fruity and sweet flavors varied among wild and Sparks 127 kernels. Various flavor characteristics were affected by kernel color. Dark colored kernels had more intense burnt, musty/dusty, oily, woody, astringent, and sour flavors than light colored kernels. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that eliminating dark colored Emma K and Sparks 127 kernels by color sorting will likely limit acrid, rancid and bitter flavors in the marketplace, which may be perceived as unappealing by consumers. Light colored kernels are produced by shaking trees early in the harvest season and hulling fruits immediately after harvest. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Pest reduction services by birds in shade and sun coffee in JamaicaANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 2 2010M. D. Johnson Abstract The reduction of insect pests by birds in agriculture may provide an incentive for farming practices that enhance the conservation value of farms for birds and other wildlife. We investigated pest reduction services by insectivorous birds on a coffee farm in Jamaica, West Indies. Our results suggest that birds reduced insect pests on our study site. Infestation by the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei, the world's most damaging insect pest in coffee, was significantly elevated on coffee shrubs from which birds were experimentally excluded from foraging. Overall, we estimated the economic value of the reduction of coffee berry borer by birds on the 18 ha farm to be US$310 ha,1 for the 2006 harvest season. These results provide additional evidence that birds can reduce numbers of economically damaging pests and enhance crop yields in coffee farms. Differences in the magnitude of pest reduction within the farm may have resulted from variation in shade management and surrounding habitats, and these factors merit further investigation. [source] Barley adaptation and improvement in the Mediterranean basinPLANT BREEDING, Issue 6 2008A. Pswarayi Abstract To study barley adaptation and improvement in the Mediterranean basin, a collection of 188 entries comprising landraces and old genotypes and current modern varieties from the Mediterranean basin and elsewhere was tested on moisture-contrasted environments in seven Mediterranean countries, during 2004 and 2005 harvest seasons. The experimental design consisted of an unreplicated trial for all entries, augmented by four repeated checks to which a partial replicate containing a quarter of the entries was added. Best Linear Unbiased Predictions (BLUPs) representing adjusted genotypic means were generated for individual trials using a mixed model. BLUPs were used for genotype by environment interaction analysis using main effect plus genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplots of yield ranked data and for comparisons of landraces, old and modern genotypes using analysis of variance. Mean yields ranged from near crop failure to 6 t/ha. Local landraces were better adapted to environments yielding below 2 t/ha, thus breeding has mostly benefited environments yielding above 2 t/ha where modern genotypes out yielded landraces and old cultivars by 15%. Current barley selection is leading to specifically adapted genotypes. [source] A diminished capacity for chloride exclusion by grapevine rootstocks following long-term saline irrigation in an inland versus a coastal region of AustraliaAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF GRAPE AND WINE RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006J.M. TREGEAGLE Abstract Shiraz and Chardonnay grapevines that had been initially assessed for Cl - exclusion in the 1996 and 1997 harvest seasons at both Merbein (inland region of Victoria) and at Padthaway (sub-coastal region of South Australia), were re-evaluated in 2003 and 2004 at those same two locations. Both scion varieties were grown either on their own roots or were grafted to one of the following rootstocks: Ramsey, 1103 Paulsen, 140 Ruggeri, K51-40, Schwarzmann, 101-14, Rupestris St George and 1202 Couderc. Both sites had been irrigated with saline water since 1994. The salinity of irrigation water at Merbein was approximately 2.1 dS/m; at Padthaway irrigation salinity varied between approximately 1.6 dS/m and 2.5 dS/m during the survey period. Changes in the Cl - -excluding ability of all rootstock/scion combinations between 1996, 1997 and 2003, 2004 were based upon analysis of Cl - concentrations in grape juice and in laminae at harvest, as well as Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) of the 1:5 soil:water extract. Taking juice Cl - as indicative of rootstock effectiveness for Cl - exclusion, and considering data from Merbein, our analyses demonstrated that overall means for Shiraz juice Cl - increased from around 190 to 427 mg/L over the survey period (7 years). In Chardonnay grapevines at Merbein, overall mean concentrations of Cl - in juice increased from around 70 to around 225 mg/L over 7 years. Significant differences between rootstocks were evident, with some rootstocks at Merbein showing a diminished capacity for Cl - exclusion in 2003 and 2004. By contrast, in Padthaway there was no consistent deterioration in Cl - -excluding capacity by rootstocks supporting either Shiraz or Chardonnay as scions. In 2004 there were significant differences between grapevines at Merbein and Padthaway in the concentration of Cl - accumulated, even though the mean soil EC1:5 after harvest for 0,90 cm depth was the same at both sites, namely 0.4 dS/m. Containment of grapevine salinity at Padthaway (relative to Merbein) between 1996/97 and 2003/04 was most likely due to factors such as a lower volume of saline irrigation, double the rainfall and 27% lower pan evaporation. [source] | |||||||||||||