Impact of the maturity stage on harvest point of fruits and physiological quality of Physalis peruviana L. seeds

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the physical-chemical and physiological changes during the maturation of fruits and seeds of P. peruviana and to determine the best stage for harvesting in the Brazillian semi-arid conditions. The fruits of P. peruviana were collected at five stages of maturation based on the color of the epicarp: stage 1: light green fruit; stage 2: yellowish-green; stage 3: light yellow with green color in the area that connects to the calyx; stage 4: yellow; stage 5: yellowish-orange. Physical and physico-chemical (length, diameter, fresh weight, fruit and calyx color, and total soluble solids) characteristics were evaluated. The physiological characteristics of the seeds were evaluated for water content and dry weight, germination percentage, germination speed index, emergence percentage, emergence speed index were also determined. The highest values of fruit weight, width, length and total soluble solids were recorded from stage S5, although it did not differ from stages S3 and S4. P. peruviana seeds reached their maximum physiological quality from S3 stage. On the other hand, the harvesting of fruits with characteristics meeting the minimum standards required for sale and consumption in natura should be carried out when the fruit and the calyx appear completely yellow, in the S4 stage. These findings point out which attributes may help improve current methods for monitoring ripening of physalis, in particular the commercially important specie P. peruviana.

Emergence of Coccoloba gigantifolia Melo, Cid Ferreira & Gribel seedlings as a function of raceme and fruit maturation

“…Studies with other species, which have fleshy fruits, have similarly shown that seed moisture content remains high after maturity, even with significant reduction during fruit maturation, as in Allophylus edulis (Kaiser et al, 2016) and Physalis peruviana (Barroso et al, 2022). Ferreira et al (2021), using C. gigantifolia fruits with color ranging from half red and half green to completely purple, recorded a seed moisture content of 49.3%, which was intermediate to the values found in the present study.…”

“…The ripe fruit (completely purple) is about 0.5 to 0.8 cm long (Melo et al, 2019) and weighs around 0.7 to 0.9 g, with smaller dimensions and lower fresh mass than those of other species of the genus, such as Coccoloba uvifera, whose fruit measures around 2 cm in diameter and weighs about 4.8 g (Parrotta, 1994). In Physalis peruviana L., fresh mass also increased significantly during fruit maturation (Barroso et al, 2022). Fruit development occurs through cell division and expansion, probably regulated by hormones such as auxin and/or cytokinin and/or gibberellin (McAtee et al, 2013).…”

“…The high seed moisture content (53.1 to 60.5%; Table 1), the low percentage of emergence (1 to 6%; Figure 2) and the lowest seedling emergence speed index (0.011 to 0.094% day -1 ; Table 2), referring to green fruits, indicate that the low vigor of seeds at this stage was due to physiological immaturity, as observed in Allophylus edulis (Kaiser et al, 2016), Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardner) Warb. (Villa et al, 2019), Albizia hasslerii (Ristau et al, 2020), Anadenanthera colubrina (Cruz et al, 2021) and Physalis peruviana (Barroso et al, 2022).…”

“…It is considered important to know the development process of fruits of native species, as this contributes to obtaining high-quality seeds (Barbosa et al, 2015). When harvest is carried out at an inadequate moment, there is a significant reduction in seed quality, besides resulting in quantitative losses (Barroso et al, 2022). In recalcitrant seeds, such as those of C. gigantifolia (Ferreira et al, 2021), which have shorter longevity due to their inability to tolerate water losses, this may be even more significant (Silva et al, 2018).…”

Development and Validation of Spectrophotometric Methods for the Quantitative Determination of Doxycycline Hyclate in Pure Form and Pharmaceutical Formulations Using Flow‐Injection and Batch procedures: A Comparative Study

“…These procedures also make use of small amounts of samples and reagents. Each analysis uses only a little quantity of reagent and material, and the waste may be easily managed using the photo‐Fenton approach [34] . In light of the aforementioned considerations, it can be claimed that the recommended FIA and batch procedures follow the principles of green chemistry and offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional techniques.…”