Review Reports - Fruit Quality and Production Parameters of Some Bitter Cherry Cultivars

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled ‘Fruit Quality and Production Parameters of Some Bitter Cherry Cultivars’ It presents a current and interesting topic, although it is more related to a geographical area.

The introduction is well written and addresses the topic in a general way, as well as clearly explaining the aims of the work.

In the materials and methods, some corrections and additions are needed:

Line 171, the ‘diluted extract’ they refer to was achieved how? Is it just juice or was there a real extraction?

In the phenols methodology, which extract did you use?

Results are well described

The numbering of the tables is incorrect from table 4 onwards, please correct this information in the text as well.

In the results tables, do you really think it's necessary to include the mean values as well as the standard deviation? The text says nothing about this and these values and what is the real importance of this information?

The conclusion is fine, but how do you explain the 356 statement?

Author Response

Line 171, the ‘diluted extract’ they refer to was achieved how? Is it just juice or was there a real extraction?

Response and Revisions: An ultrasound-assisted extraction method was used to extract phytochemicals from fruit samples. Briefly, 1 g of sample was mixed with 10 mL 70% ethanol and subjected to ultrasonic treatment for 35 min at a maximum of 30 °C and a frequency of 40 kHz. After recovery of the resulting crude extract, it was then centrifuged for 10 min at 6000 rpm and 4 °C (Added to the text: lines 161-171).

In the phenols methodology, which extract did you use?

Response and Revisions: For the extraction of total polyphenols, the same extract was used as in the case of antioxidant activity by the DPPH method (An ultrasound-assisted extraction method was used to extract phytochemicals from fruit samples. Briefly, 1 g of sample was mixed with 10 mL 70% ethanol and subjected to ultrasonic treatment for 35 min at a maximum of 30 °C and a frequency of 40 kHz. After recovery of the resulting crude extract, it was then centrifuged for 10 min at 6000 rpm and 4 °C) (Added to the text: lines 161-171).

Results are well described

The numbering of the tables is incorrect from table 4 onwards, please correct this information in the text as well.

Response and Revisions: Thank you! We have corrected the numbering of the tables.

Response and Revisions: Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this point of view. I have additionally added the mean values and the standard deviation for a more precise presentation of the data, the variability within the species Prunus avium with bitter fruits and to draw meaningful and generalized conclusions. The importance of adding this additional information we considered that it represents the central tendency of the data values and together with the standard deviation reports the results of the statistical analysis.

The conclusion is fine, but how do you explain the 356 statement?

Response and Revisions: (The 356 statement: The results obtained in this study may be useful for the conservation and genetic management of fruit tree resources or specifically of Prunus avium.) The genetic variability of the cherry tree and especially of selected cultivars that have superior resistance to biotic and abiotic factors in their genes and nutraceutical qualities of the fruit reflected in all measured and analyzed parameters make them useful for maintenance in orchards and experimental fields, for propagation but also as genetic material for the creation of new cultivars.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Line 22: in the content total of polyphenols

Line 44: this is true for sour cherries, not so much for P. avium

Please explain Figure 1 in the caption, what do those dots represent? You mentioned agrobiological diversity, so are those natural stands or cultivated fields of P. avium?

Line 100: Please explain how were those genotypes initially selected. If there is a previous work please cite the paper. Provide more details on how you narrowed the germplasm down to only 5.

The order of the results presentation should follow the logical flow, from the whole plant down to the final and smallest part - fruits. In other words, vegetative characterization should precede the pomological characterization.

Line 307: avoid expressions like variant, use genotype, cultivar or accession.

Table 4: if you opt for 'frost resistance', a more logical flow would be to show unaffected ovaries, rather than affected ones.

A similar comment stands for the cracking resistance.

The current discussion is weak and should be broadened towards the contribution of bitter cherry in superfood product selection and similar contemporary needs by the market.

Having in mind the broad Horticulturae readership, please address benefits for producers. Where and how should they establish the plantations following the results you obtained?

Author Response

Line 22: in the content total of polyphenols

Response and Revisions: Thank you. We corrected it in the text.

Line 44: this is true for sour cherries, not so much for P. avium

Response and Revisions: I agree with your comment. But although most of the production of cherries (Prunus avium L.) is for fresh consumption, the fruit can also be processed into other products, such as juice, jam, marmalade and toppings, just like any other fruit. Thus, this production and processing of the fruit leads to more by-products, to avoid throwing away excess fresh fruit in full season.

Please explain Figure 1 in the caption, what do those dots represent? You mentioned agrobiological diversity, so are those natural stands or cultivated fields of P. avium?

Response and Revisions: The dots on the map represent the distribution both as a wild plant and as a cultivated plant across the entire surface of the country and on all landforms. It has also been added to the text under the figure title. Thank you for the suggestion.

Line 100: Please explain how were those genotypes initially selected. If there is a previous work please cite the paper. Provide more details on how you narrowed the germplasm down to only 5.

Response and Revisions: Previous works explaining the initial selection of the chosen genotypes have been cited in the text.

The 5 cultivars were chosen due to their positioning in the experimental field, and through the continuity of studies within the long-term research conducted at the Research Station for Fruit Growing (RSFG) Iaşi – Romania.

Response and Revisions: Thank you and we agree with your comment. Fruit characterization was chosen in the foreground because it represents the object of the food and processing industry, while tree habit, plant architecture, interaction with the environment, flowering and fruit ripening time, fertility and self-compatibility, as well as resistance to numerous stress factors are somewhat secondary factors of description in this case.

Line 307: avoid expressions like variant, use genotype, cultivar or accession.

Response and Revisions: Thank you for the suggestion. I have replaced the expression "variant" with cultivar in the text.

Table 4: if you opt for 'frost resistance', a more logical flow would be to show unaffected ovaries, rather than affected ones. A similar comment stands for the cracking resistance.

Response and Revisions:

Thank you for the pertinent suggestion. We have modified the data in the tables and in the text taking into account the recommendations, thus, data on the percentage of unaffected ovaries and uncracked fruits have been added.

The current discussion is weak and should be broadened towards the contribution of bitter cherry in superfood product selection and similar contemporary needs by the market.

Response and Revisions: Thank you for the recommendations. I have made additions to the text to the content of the discussions.

Having in mind the broad Horticulturae readership, please address benefits for producers. Where and how should they establish the plantations following the results you obtained?

Response and Revisions: The agrobiological potential of the studied cherry cultivars offers them the possibility of cultivation on a large area, the most important results of the Prunus fruit tree species from a commercial point of view were in plantations in temperate climate areas.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Comments: In this paper the present study was conducted during the period 2022-2024 with the aim of evaluating the fruit quality of five bitter cherry varieties: morpho-physiological and organoleptic traits, physical and chemical parameters and the general productivity of the varieties: tree vigor, fruit and yield indices. The results of the study show that the physical characteristics of the five bitter cherry varieties vary considerably, highlighting the influence of local environmental factors on bitter cherry yield. This article is a relatively new and comprehensive account of the fruit and tree characteristics of five different varieties of bitter cherry. However, there are many problems with the manuscript:

1. The abstract of the article could be augmented with the purpose and expectations of the study, and other lengthy content could be trimmed.

2. Figure 1 should be better annotated to indicate the meaning of the squares in the figure.

3. in the section on research areas and growth conditions, the basis for selecting the environmental conditions mentioned could be improved.

4. in the formatting of the article, there are several places where there are no blank lines, such as in sections 2.4.4 and 3.6.

5. the notes in several tables do not end with “.” at the end.

6. the citation in line 259 should be formatted more consistently than the rest of the citation.

7. when describing the color of the fruit, it would be better to have a picture to show.

8. In addition to some formatting problems, I think the summary of this paper is very simple and needs to be improved by the author.

Author Response

The abstract of the article could be augmented with the purpose and expectations of the study, and other lengthy content could be trimmed.

Response and Revisions: Thank you for your suggestion. Some changes have been made to the content of the abstract, which you can find in the new attached article.

Figure 1 should be better annotated to indicate the meaning of the squares in the figure.

Response and Revisions: : The dots on the map represent the distribution both as a wild plant and as a cultivated plant across the entire surface of the country and on all landforms. It has also been added to the text under the figure title (Line 56-58). Thank you for the suggestion.

In the section on research areas and growth conditions, the basis for selecting the environmental conditions mentioned could be improved.

Response and Revisions: Additional data has been added to section 2.Materials and Methods, subsection 2.1. Research Area and Growing Conditions (Lines: 104-112). Thank you!

In the formatting of the article, there are several places where there are no blank lines, such as in sections 2.4.4 and 3.6.

Response and Revisions: Indeed. Thank you! It has been corrected.

The notes in several tables do not end with “.” at the end.

Response and Revisions: It has been corrected in the text for all tables.

The citation in line 259 should be formatted more consistently than the rest of the citation.

Response and Revisions: It has been fixed. Thank you!

When describing the color of the fruit, it would be better to have a picture to show.

Response and Revisions: The visual characteristics of the fruits (color and shape) of the studied bitter cherry cultivars were highlighted in Figure 2 and inserted in the uploaded document. Thank you for the suggestion.

Figure 2. Visual characteristics of fruits (color and shape) in the studied bitter cherry cultivars.

In addition to some formatting problems, I think the summary of this paper is very simple and needs to be improved by the author.

Response and Revisions: I have made some changes to both the summary and the content. Thank you and I am grateful for the recommendations and suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for the improvements.

Author Response

Comments: Thank you for the improvements.

Response: We would like to thank you very much for your time in reviewing the article entitled Fruit Quality and Production Parameters of Some Bitter Cherry Cultivars.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Author Response

Comments and Suggestions for Authors: Accept Response: We would like to thank you very much for taking the time to review the article entitled Fruit Quality and Production Parameters of Some Bitter Cherry Cultivars.