Vol. 101, No. 4 (Dec 2018)
Dragon fruit (Hylocereus sp.) is a climbing cactus natively produced in Mexico and Central and Southern America and was believed to be introduced in the Philippines during the Spanish era. It was originally grown as an ornamental crop in many local homes but has gained popularity in the Philippine market because of its peculiar shape, enticing color and high nutritional value. Many farmers have engaged in dragon fruit farming because of its high profitability. Among the two popular species of dragon fruit, the red-fleshed (H. polyrhizus) is highly preferred than the white-fleshed (H. undatus) as it is believed to be more nutritious because of its intense red pulp which translates to high antioxidant activity. Other than being eaten as intact fruit for dessert, it can also be processed to jams, ice creams, wines, beverages and dyes. Because of the expanding market for dragon fruit, developing appropriate technologies to keep its physical and nutritional quality after harvest have become imperative to address the fruit’s short shelf life. The use of chitosan coating and low temperature conditioning in dragon fruit prior to storage have been tested and showed potential in alleviating chilling injury when stored at suboptimal temperatures thus preserving fruit quality and extending market availability.
Categories
Articles
Salinity Tolerance and Traits Correlations of Selected Magic Indica Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genotypes at Seedling Stage
Manuela A. Samaco, Neilyn O. Villa, and Glenn B. Gregorio
Salinity tolerance of MAGIC (Multiparent Advanced Generation Intercross) indica population of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was investigated at the seedling stage through phenotypic screening, morpho-physiological measurements and SSR analysis. Out of the original 970 MAGIC rice genotypes, 205 genotypes were initially selected based on salinity tolerance. After a second screening, 36 lines were subjected to a final replicated screening along with eight founder lines of MAGIC indica, and two checks (FL 478 and IR 29). Ten MAGIC indica genotypes (28%) were scored as tolerant and 26 (72%) moderately tolerant. Among the founder lines, IR 45427-2B-2-2B-1-1 scored tolerant, 4 lines scored moderately t...
Salinity tolerance of MAGIC (Multiparent Advanced Generation Intercross) indica population of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was investigated at the seedling stage through phenotypic screening, morpho-physiological measurements and SSR analysis. Out of the original 970 MAGIC rice genotypes, 205 genotypes were initially selected based on salinity tolerance. After a second screening, 36 lines were subjected to a final replicated screening along with eight founder lines of MAGIC indica, and two checks (...
Optimization of Sowing Time and Seed Rates Can Enhance Wheat Yield in Semi-arid Environment
Abdul Basir, Adnan Tahir, Kilwat Afridi, Shah Fahad, Zahoor Ahmad, Muhammad Adnan, Mukhtar Alam, Shaheen Shah, Ahmad Khan, Fazli Wahid, Muhammad Ibrahim, Inayat-ur-Rahman, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, and Rehad Ali
Optimization of planting time and seed rate are of prime importance to determine crop yield with change in climate. Hence, a field experiment was conducted using two-factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with split-plot arrangement where sowing time was assigned to main plots and seed rates were assigned to subplots to evaluate the response of wheat to varying seed rates (90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 kg ha-1) and planting time (sowing started from October 25 with a 10-d gap till December 15). Different planting time significantly affected heading stage, spike length, plant height, number of spikes per unit area, 1000-grain weight, biological and grain yield, and harvest inde...
Optimization of planting time and seed rate are of prime importance to determine crop yield with change in climate. Hence, a field experiment was conducted using two-factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with split-plot arrangement where sowing time was assigned to main plots and seed rates were assigned to subplots to evaluate the response of wheat to varying seed rates (90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 kg ha-1) and planting time (sowing started from October 25 with a 10-d gap till...
Interpretation of Genotype by Environment Interaction for Barley Genotypes Via Simultaneous Selection for Yield and Stability
Shadi Faramoushi, Hamid Hatami Maleki, Behrouz Vaezi, and Naser Sabagnia
Genotype × environment (GE) interaction was investigated for grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Data included were 18 genotypes and 15 environments (five locations and three years). Interaction effect was modeled by four types of stability parameters and studied parameters were plotted against mean yield performance for graphic analysis of stability and simultaneous selection for yield and stability. About 60% of the total variance was explained by environment differences, about 24% by GE differences and 15% by genotype differences. G8, G10 and G18 according to Si2 and G2, G6 and G10 considering CVi were stable while G2, G6 and G10 were identified as the most stable genotypes bas...
Genotype × environment (GE) interaction was investigated for grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Data included were 18 genotypes and 15 environments (five locations and three years). Interaction effect was modeled by four types of stability parameters and studied parameters were plotted against mean yield performance for graphic analysis of stability and simultaneous selection for yield and stability. About 60% of the total variance was explained by environment differences, about 24% ...
Physiological Responses to Low Temperature Conditioning and Chitosan Coating of Red-Fleshed Dragon Fruit [Hylocereus polyrhizus (Weber) Britton & Rose]
Angelo C. Castro, Elda B. Esguerra, Josephine U. Agravante, and Lilia M. Fernando
The effect of the combination treatment of 1% chitosan coating and 3-d low temperature conditioning (LTC) at 10 °C was evaluated in maintaining the quality of red-fleshed dragon fruit during storage at 8 °C. Fruit subjected to LTC and chitosan coating treatments had slower respiration rate than the control. Ascorbic acid (AAC) and total phenolic contents (TPC) of the fruit subjected to the treatments were unaffected during storage. However, the decline in AAC after transfer to 20 °C was slower in treated fruit. Furthermore, the increase in flesh concentration of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) during storage at 8 °C was due to the inhibition of ethylene biosynthesis. The incre...
The effect of the combination treatment of 1% chitosan coating and 3-d low temperature conditioning (LTC) at 10 °C was evaluated in maintaining the quality of red-fleshed dragon fruit during storage at 8 °C. Fruit subjected to LTC and chitosan coating treatments had slower respiration rate than the control. Ascorbic acid (AAC) and total phenolic contents (TPC) of the fruit subjected to the treatments were unaffected during storage. However, the decline in AAC after transfer to 20 °C was slowe...
Estimation of Alkali Spreading Value and Gelatinization Temperature of Some Philippine Rice Varieties Using Digital Photometry
Arvin Paul P. Tuaño, Carl H. Ricafort, and Ernesto J. del Rosario
Gelatinization temperature (GT) is an important property of the rice grain which affects its cooking and eating qualities. The most reliable method for determining GT needs expensive equipment, namely differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). An alternative method is digital photometry (DP) which uses an inexpensive digital camera and free-access image processing software to determine the alkali spreading value (ASV) and GT of milled rice. The starch gel area of the images of alkali-gelatinized grains was measured after a given gelatinization time; the images were then taken with a digital camera inside a fabricated light box and analyzed using ImageJ. Literature GT values based on DSC (GT...
Gelatinization temperature (GT) is an important property of the rice grain which affects its cooking and eating qualities. The most reliable method for determining GT needs expensive equipment, namely differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). An alternative method is digital photometry (DP) which uses an inexpensive digital camera and free-access image processing software to determine the alkali spreading value (ASV) and GT of milled rice. The starch gel area of the images of alkali-gelatinize...