In many regions of the world, human nutrition is still characterized by an insufficient intake of essential nutrients like minerals such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). In view of decreasing resources and a growing world population, the efficiency and the sustainability of cultivation systems should be considered not only in terms of crop yield and profit margin but also in terms of the yield of essential nutrients. Tomatoes are the most consumed vegetable in the world. Organic outdoor tomato cultivation is generally characterized by a higher diversity of varieties and lower fertilization input compared to conventional production. A 2-year field experiment with a set of 20 cultivars was performed to evaluate their variation regarding fruit mineral concentrations [potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorous (P), Fe, and Zn], their contribution to the dietary reference intake (DRI), and the nutritional yields (adults ha–1 year–1). Results show that mineral concentrations differed significantly by cultivar and by year. However, even though significant genotype-by-year effects appear, several cultivars exhibit high genotype stability across years for the single traits studied. Taking this together with medium-to-high heritability, genetics strongly controls most studied traits. Among the cultivars, the contribution of 100 g fresh fruits varied from 4.5 to 7.7% for K, 0.8 to 1.8% for Ca, 2.3 to 4.4% for Mg, 3 to 6.6% for P, 3.1 to 6.9% for Fe, and 1.9 to 4.2% for Zn to meet daily requirements. Based on average fruit yields per hectare, the cultivars varied with regard to the nutritional yields for all the studied minerals, but most strongly for Fe (44–120 adults ha–1 year–1) and Zn (22–84 adults ha–1 year–1). In terms of contribution to the DRI and nutritional yield for Fe, the cocktail cultivar “Bartelly F1” produced the highest results, while for Zn the salad cultivar “Bocati F1” showed the highest values. Our results show that the targeted use of tomato biodiversity in organic outdoor production can be suitable to achieve high fruit yields as well as to produce high nutritional yields per unit area, thus contributing to more effective land use and improved food security. These findings also provide valuable insights for tomato breeders to improve the tomato fruit quality while maintaining yield.
Increasing fruit yield and quality of tomatoes under organic low-input conditions remains a challenge for producers and breeders. Therefore, it is necessary to identify superior tomato cultivars that are suitable for production and use as parents in breeding programmes. In the present study, the variations in plant morphology and fruit quality characteristics of tomato cultivars were assessed to reveal the traits associated with improved yield and fruit quality. Sixty diverse tomato cultivars were screened in 2015, and in 2016, a subset of 20 cultivars was selected for further evaluation under organic low-input conditions. The results showed high variability among cultivars in all 28 traits that were observed. Salad cultivars had lower plant growth and fruit quality (minerals, dry matter, total soluble solids, and total phenolics) by 10–70%, but they displayed 10–60% higher fruit yield and leaf minerals than cocktail cultivars. Salad tomato cultivars with superior yield and harvest index were mainly derived from breeding for intensive indoor production. Cocktail cultivars with superior yield were mainly derived from organic and outdoor breeding programs. There was a trade-off between fruit yield and quality, indicating a challenge for simultaneous improvement of yield and quality. The importance of Mg was highlighted because of its contribution to the fruit mineral concentration and fruit quality. Cultivars superior in one trait or trait combination under organic low-input conditions were identified to be used by producers and breeders as superior cultivars to meet their production targets and breeding objectives. The importance of Mg provides a novel path for further research on improving soil-available Mg in organic tomato production to enhance fruit mineral concentration and fruit quality in general.
This study was conducted to determine the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with fruit flavor in diverse tomato cultivars (salad and cocktail cultivars) under organic low-input production. For this objective, 60 cultivars deriving from very diverse breeding programs 1880–2015 were evaluated in 2015, and a subset of 20 cultivars was selected for further evaluation in 2016. The diversity of instrumentally determined traits, especially for VOCs concentration and sensory properties (fruit firmness, juiciness, skin firmness, sweetness, sourness, aroma, and acceptability), was investigated at two harvest dates. The evaluation of the cultivars exhibited a wide range of variation for all studied traits, with the exception of a few VOCs. Cultivar had the most important effect on all instrumentally determined traits, while the influence of cultivar × harvest date × year interaction was significant for 17 VOCs, but not for total soluble solid (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA). The VOCs with the highest proportion (>8%) were hexanal, 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one, 2-isobutylthiazole, and (E)-2-hexenal, which were identified in all cultivars. Twelve VOCs significantly correlated with one or more sensory attributes and these VOCs also allowed differentiation of the fruit type. Among these VOCs, phenylethyl alcohol and benzyl alcohol positively correlated with acceptability in the cocktail cultivars, whereas 2-isobuthylthiazole and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol negatively correlated with acceptability in the salad cultivars. As a result of this study, organic breeders are recommended to use cultivars from a wide range of breeding programs to improve important quality and agronomic traits. As examples, salad tomatoes “Campari F1”, “Green Zebra”, and “Auriga”, as well as cocktail tomatoes “Supersweet 100 F1”, “Sakura F1”, and “Black Cherry” showed higher scores for the sensory attributes aroma and acceptability under organic low-input growing conditions. It remains a challenge for breeders and growers to reduce the trade-off of yield and quality.
Bokashi is an organic fertilizer made from organic materials through fermentation process. A high quality bokashi should have C/N ratio between 10-20, which normally produced from a mix raw organic material with has C/N ratio of 30. However, many studies have shown a composition of raw organic material without a calculation of C/N ratio. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to gather the initial C/N ratio of various raw material from previous published studies, calculate the C/N ratio, and examine the descriptive characteristic (colour, aroma, and texture) of bokashi made from three selected C/N ratios of raw material (30, 70, and 110) and various length of fermentation (10, 17, and 24 days). This research combined literature reviews and laboratory experimental. For laboratory experimental, Complete Randomise Design (CRD) was applied. The result showed that all bokashi produced from raw material mixture with the C/N ratio up to 110 was still acceptable to be directly applied as a fertilizer. Bokashi produced with longer fermentation time had better texture but lower aroma and colour quality.
Cocoa (Theobroma cocoa L) is one of the local superior commodities in Aceh Province. The production of cocoa continues to increase significantly every year. Cocoa Pod husk is a waste product of cocoa beans industry, which is containing pectin with concentration ranged between 2-10%. Pectin extraction is one of the potential researches to increase economic value of cocoa pod husks. This study aimed to determine the effect of extraction time and pH on the characteristics of cocoa pod husk pectin. Pectin was extracted from cocoa pod husks using ammonium oxalate, extraction time (60 and 120 min) and pH (2.6, 3.6 and 4.6). The use of ammonium oxalate produced high yield of pectin ranged from 6.63 to 12.75%, moisture content was 7,36 to 10,77%, methoxyl content was 5.19 to 5.70%, anhydrogalacturonic acid of 59.84 to 63.14%, the esterification degree was 48.43 to 51.43 % and relative viscosity was 40 – 186,6 cP. The extraction time for 60 minutes at pH 3,6 showed a higher yield compared to 120 min at pH 4,6. Pectin on the extraction time of 60 minutes at pH 3.6 had the highest relative viscosity was 186,6 cP, and the lowest viscosity of pectin obtained at pH 2.6 and extraction time of 60 min which was 40 cP.Keywords: cocoa pod husks, ammonium oxalate, extraction time, pH
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