Agronomy

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Dear Colleagues,

Fruits are an important source of carbohydrates, proteins, organic acids, vitamins and minerals for human nutrition and health. In addition to the health benefits that can derive from their consumption, fruit can also function as precious sources of bioactive compounds for food functionalization or nutraceutical preparations. To improve quality and reduce losses, producers and handlers should understand the biological, environmental and technological factors affecting quality and deterioration. Fruits are highly perishable products with an active metabolism subjected to several losses between harvest and consumption through microbial decay, physical injury, and senescence during postharvest life. Preharvest and postharvest handling, processing and technology play a key role in increasing fruit availability and maintaining fruit quality. Fruit quality parameters include size, visual attractiveness, taste, health benefits, shelf life, suitability for handling and processing and so on. The connection between quality build-up in the preharvest period and its impact on technological quality traits has been frequently overlooked, and detailed knowledge is still missing. Fresh fruits are different in terms of morphological structure, composition and physiology; for that reason, commodity requirements and recommendations to maintain quality and improve postharvest life change among the products. During the production chain, specific criteria prevail depending on the product's destination, which includes either the fresh market or the processing industry. Therefore, improving shelf life, maintaining quality and reducing waste by conducting advanced research on fruit physiology and developing new technologies are mandatory to meet the consumer's demand and to reduce food chain losses.

The Special Issue is focused on recent research regarding advances in fruit preharvest and postharvest quality, physiology and technology. Manuscripts related to preharvest and postharvest sustainable treatment or processing will be appreciated (research articles and reviews are welcome).

Dr. Giorgia Liguori
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in Biochemical and Bioactive Compounds in Two Red Grape Cultivars during Ripening and Cold Storage

by Samira Moradi, Mahmoud Koushesh Saba, Sharareh Sadeghi, Paolo Inglese and Giorgia Liguori

Agronomy 2024, 14(3), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030487 - 28 Feb 2024

Viewed by 688

Abstract

The market value of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) is affected by their quality and harvesting time. Veraison and stage of ripening are the most important factors determining table grape quality. Therefore, the present research was performed to determine the effects of various ripening stages on the combination and postharvest quality of two red grape cultivars. Based on color change, fruits were harvested at the veraison stage, two weeks after the veraison stage, and at the full ripening stage. Fruits harvested at the fully ripe stage were stored for 7, 14, and 21 days (at 1 °C with 85–90% relative humidity). The greatest soluble solids content (SSC) (16.1%) and SSC/TA ratio were observed in ‘Khoshnav’, while the greatest titratable acidity (TA) (0.45%) and pH (3.60) were observed in ‘Rashah’. The results of the present study showed that regardless of the storage period, fruits harvested at time V (veraison time) and two weeks after veraison (2WAV) had significantly higher firmness and vitamin C content. ‘Khoshnav’ had the lowest weight loss (2.05%), and ‘Khoshnav’ and ‘Rashah’ had the greatest firmness (5.95 N) and vitamin C content (89.48 mg 100 g⁻¹ FW). The greatest anthocyanin content was observed on day 7 of storage in ‘Rashah’. Total phenol (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents and antioxidant capacity (AC) increased significantly until harvest and decreased thereafter during cold storage. ‘Rashah’ showed the greatest AC, TP, and TF values. Based on the findings of this study, the ‘Rashah’ grape cultivar is shown to be rich in vitamin C, anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolics, and antioxidants. It holds potential for utilization in both processing and breeding programs as a functional food ingredient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Pre-harvest and Postharvest Quality, Physiology and Technology—Volume II)

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36 pages, 10950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness of Oregano and Thyme Essential Oils as Alternatives for Sulfur Dioxide in Controlling Decay and Gray Mold and Maintaining Quality of ‘Flame Seedless’ Table Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) during Cold Storage

by Usama K. El-Abbasy, Mohamed A. Abdel-Hameed, Harlene M. Hatterman-Valenti, Ali R. El-Shereif and Ahmed F. Abd El-Khalek

Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 3075; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123075 - 17 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1557

Abstract

The current study was carried out over two seasons (2020 and 2021) to assess the effects of preharvest treatments with oregano and thyme essential oils (EOs) as an alternative to the traditional use of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) during cold storage of grape clusters cv. Flame Seedless. Grapevines were sprayed with oregano or thyme essential oils at 2000 or 4000 µL/L two days before harvest. The results confirmed that oregano and thyme EOs treatments reduced the physiological loss in weight, decay incidence, gray mold, rachis browning index, and berry shattering as compared to sulfur dioxide and untreated fruits. In addition, EOs had higher marketable percentage, firmness, and visual appearance cluster scores, while they reduced the deterioration in titratable acidity (TA) and ascorbic acid (AsA) contents, slowing the increases in soluble solids content (SSC) and SSC/TA ratio of berries, and improving total anthocyanin content. Moreover, these EOs delayed berry activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POX), and pectin methylesterase (PME) enzymes during cold storage. Results suggest that preharvest application with either oregano or thyme EOs at 2000 µL/L might be a promising eco-friendly and safe candidate as an alternative to conventional SO₂ used to control decay incidence and gray mold rot caused by Botrytis cinerea, and the EOs were effective in maintaining the quality of grape clusters during cold storage for up to 45 days. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Fruit Pre-harvest and Postharvest Quality, Physiology and Technology—Volume II)

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