Academic literature on the topic 'Grape quality'

Interest in grape juice has risen as the public becomes more aware of natural foods and the specific evidence of healthful benefits of grapes. Among major preharvest conditions that influence quality of grape juice are climate, soil, cultivar, vineyard management, and maturity. Each of these factors exerts its own influence, but complex interactions among these factors must be recognized. For mechanically harvested juice grapes, cultivar takes on special importance to quality and yield as do the production system, harvest machines, postharvest handling systems, and processing method. Grape juice composition has been extensively studied, and production and processing methods have improved over the years. The following discussion deals with developments in grape juice production.

The quality of a wine is generally determined by hiring a group of qualified wine judges to taste the wine. The quality of wine grapes is directly related to the quality of wine. To explore how the physical and chemical indicators of wine and wine grapes can reflect the quality of wine and grape to a certain extent. This article is based on 2012 Chinese college students' mathematical contest in modeling A problem of data, to score as the dependent variable, wine physical and chemical indicators as independent variables, the method of using principal component analysis of physical and chemical indexes of wine grape dimension reduction, physical and chemical indexes selection of grapes, and use the decision tree regression method to establish score and wine function relation between the physical and chemical indicators. Then, after the comparison of the results of the four clustering algorithms, the hierarchical clustering method based on Agnes algorithm was used to conduct cluster analysis on the wines. Considering the rationality of classification, red and white wines were divided into four grades, and the average value of the estimated scores of each grade was used as the benchmark score for the wines of this grade.

The object of the study were grape seeds technical Rkatsiteli grown in the Derbent district and revised in September 2016 on Derbent cognac plant in the Republic of Dagestan.The purpose of this study was to obtain oil by supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide from grape Rkatsiteli and the determination of the quality and content of fatty acids in grape oil by gas-liquid chromatography with mass-selective detection.The optimal conditions for obtaining high-quality unrefined grape oil for the food and pharmaceutical industry from grape seeds of the grade Rkatsiteli by CO2 extraction were determined: temperature 30 °С, pressure of carbon dioxide 350 atm., time 60 minutes. Under these optimal conditions, the predicted oil yield was 13.5%.It is shown that the oil from the seeds of grapes of Rkatsiteli variety contains irreplaceable polyunsaturated fatty acids more than 88%, tocopherols 292 mg%, carotenoids 4.4 mg% and chlorophylls 5.9 mg%.

The results of the four-year investigation of the grape cultivars impact of the first Yugoslav interspecies hybrids Lucija and Mediana on the grape brandies quality are presented. The experiment was carried out with reference to the standard grape cultivars Smederevka intended for production of grape brandies. Investigation covered a procedure for establishing parameters, which determine the quality of strong alcoholic beverages and organoleptic rating. Higher presence of methanol with reference to standard cultivars was not established in the investigated hybrids brandies, which demonstrates properties similar to that of precious cultivars. The highest average content of higher alcohols was found out with the Mediana grape brandy, which amounts to 3295.3 mg/Laa, followed by the Smederevka grape brandy with 3261.8 mg/Laa, the Mediana/Lucija grape brandy with 3130.0 mg/Laa and the Lucija grape brandy with 2940.0 mglLaa of higher alcohols. The concentration of higher alcohols positively affects aroma of the beverage. The Mediana grape brandy and the variant where fermentation of the Mediana and Lucija grapes in the 50:50 ratio was carried out possess better organoleptic characteristics than those of Smederevka, while the Lucija grape brandy shows worse organoleptic characteristics.

The present paper consisted in the study of the main factors influencing the quality of wines produced from mechanically harvested grapes. In particular, 8 samples of grape clusters were examined, different for the harvesting technique, grape juice production, time of exposure to the ambient conditions and addition of an antioxidant The results confirm that the control of some parameters such as grape juice production, ambient temperature and time of exposure of the harvested grapes to the ambient conditions is essential in order to obtain wines of quality from mechanically harvested grapes.

Two varieties of grapes, white grape and red grape grown in the Campania region of Italy were selected for the study of drying characteristics, moisture diffusion, quality changes (colour) and shrinkage behaviour. Comparisons were made with treated and untreated grapes under constant drying condition of 50o C in a conventional drying system. This temperature was selected to represent farm drying conditions. Grapes were purchased from a local market from the same supplier to maintain the same size of grapes and same properties. An abrasive physical treatment was used as pretreatment. The drying curves were constructed and drying kinetics was calculated using several commonly available models. It was found that treated samples shows better drying characteristics than untreated samples. The objective of this study is to obtain drying kinetics which can be used to optimize the drying operations in grape drying.

The article describes the chemical composition and nutritional value of grapes, assortment and its classification, technology for the production and storage of grapes, tasting assessment and the standard requirement for the quality of table grape varieties. Also, the state of development of the viticulture and winemaking industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan is analyzed, the assortment and classification of products are analyzed. The requirement of the international standard for the quality of table grapes (UNECE FFV-19) is given. As a result of the analysis and research, recommendations were developed to ensure the quality and safety of grapes and wine products and to increase their export potential.

Mestrado em Engenharia de Viticultura e Enologia - Instituto Superior de Agronomia
Grape-Wine quality is a very complex concept that depends on the interaction of different factors such as the maturity of the grape and the management of the operations in the vineyard and in the cellar. Grape composition is critical to achieving a quality wine. A hundred and sexteen grape samples from Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards were collected in Chile. Chemical grape composition through traditional analyses such as °Brix, pH and nitrogen, GC-MSMS aroma anlyses and spectrophotometric and HPLC polyphenolic compounds analyses were measured. A sensorial evaluation of wines produced in standard conditions from the grapes in analysis was carried out by a panel-taste of experts selected by Concha y Toro company. The data were compared and correlation analyses of Pearson and Spearman and regression analyses were carried out using statistical instruments such as Excel, Rstudio and Statgraphics. Several chemical parameters (assimilable nitrogen, tannins, anthocyanins, isobutil-methoxypirazines) were relevant for the overall quality assessment and the influence of external factors (valley of provenance, trellis system, vines age) and productivity on the concentration of these parameters was significant. The chemical composition of the grape (focused on the significant parameters) was revealed as an objective tool able to predict the correct harvest time and the quality of the grapes
N/A

Orientador: Antonio Carlos de Oliveira Ferraz
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T13:30:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gomes_Daniel_D.pdf: 16813107 bytes, checksum: fa39cbbc8ab31a99a84b439cf1130d71 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012
Resumo: A cultivar de uva Niagara Rosada é a principal uva de mesa brasileira e o Estado de São Paulo é seu maior produtor com cerca de 2000 propriedades vitícolas (OLIVEIRA et al. 2008). O seu cultivo está se expandindo, dentre os fatores responsáveis destacam-se: o menor custo de produção em relação ao cultivo de uvas finas; maior rusticidade e menor necessidade de defensivos agrícolas. Apesar dos 79 anos de existência desde sua identificação e das inúmeras vantagens no cultivo, a uva 'Niagara Rosada' possui pouquíssimos estudos sobre sua pós-colheita, maturação ideal na vindima e suas consequências na vida útil dos frutos, e de sua aceitação pelo consumidor. A uva é comercializada freqüentemente abaixo do índice de maturação de 14o Brix indo contra a legislação brasileira. É comercializada imatura, ou seja, pouco doce, ácida e verde, causando malefícios a toda cadeia. Os produtores costumam comercializá-la mesmo fora da legislação vigente argumentando que não suportariam o manuseio, acondicionamento e transporte caso fossem colhidas no estádio recomendado. Diante do exposto o objetivo desse trabalho foi investigar a variação da qualidade e da vida útil da uva 'Niagara Rosada' quando colhida em diferentes estádios de maturação. Estabelecer faixas de maturação que proporcionem maior vida útil e aceitação dos consumidores e questionar a validade do parâmetro de colheita 14o Brix da legislação brasileira com outro parâmetro a razão sólidos solúveis / acidez titulável, que leva em conta a palatabilidade humana. Para tais avaliações a principio foi realizada uma coleta de cachos de uva cobrindo amplo espectro de estádios de maturações, observando a data da poda, os estádios fenológicos de 33 a 38 (EICHORN e LORENZ, 1984) e classificando-os cachos em faixas de maturação de sólidos solúveis de 1%, resultando em nove faixas de maturação de 8 a 17o Brix. Dentro deste amplo espectro de maturações os cachos foram analisadas utilizando-se a razão sólidos solúveis / acidez titulável, o que resultou na escolha três faixas de maturações 12, 14 e 16o Brix que posteriormente foram utilizadas para investigar a variação nos principais atributos qualitativos da uva 'Niagara Rosada' e em sua aceitação pelo consumidor. Para avaliação da qualidade e vida útil foi utilizado a, incidência de doenças, perda de massa, aparência do engaço, degrana, avaliação manual da rigidez dos cachos, vitamina C, taxa respiratória, firmeza e força de destacamento das bagas. Nas avaliações de aceitação e intenção de compra pelos consumidores incluíram-se também cachos na faixa de 10o Brix considerados imaturos neste trabalho, mas presentes na comercio, com intenção de avaliar a percepção do consumidor sobre esta faixa de maturação. A análise sensorial incluiu a faixa etária dos consumidores, aceitabilidade quanto à aparência, sabor, intensidade ideal do gosto doce e ácido e intenção de compra dos frutos nos diversos estádios de maturação. Não houve diferença nas faixas de maturação consideradas quanto aos indicadores temporais de qualidade, perda de massa, aparência do engaço, degrana, teor vitamina C e a taxa respiratória, porem influenciaram na incidência de doença e rigidez dos cachos, firmeza e força de destacamento das bagas. Durante o armazenamento todos os indicadores temporais de qualidade apresentaram variações, mas nem todos foram capazes de oferecer limites que pudessem ser utilizados como parâmetro de vida útil dos frutos. A vida útil foi avaliada sendo utilizada a perda de massa, aparência do engaço, degrana e rigidez do cacho; parâmetros que possibilitaram estabelecer limites claros de qualidade admissível a um cacho de uva e sua vida útil avaliada em 6,5, 6,75 e 8,5 dias para cachos com 16, 14 e 12o Brix. A cor da fruta foi seu principal atrativo aos consumidores, seguido de preço e tamanho do cacho. Em relação à aparência e a coloração dos cachos, os mais maduros foram os preferidos, porém, os consumidores não conseguiram discriminar ou simplesmente aceitaram a aparência e cor de cachos verdes com 10º Brix da mesma forma que os de 12º Brix, verificaram-se que a degrana de 5% é admitida pelos provados corroborando com determinações da Lei de padronização vigente, já a presença de bagas rompidas não foi admitida. Em relação ao sabor, cachos com 10º Brix (verdes) foram rejeitados quanto mais madura a uva, maior sua aceitação. A uva Niagara Rosada foi considerada pouco doce pelo consumidor e bem aceitas relação à acidez Quanto à avaliação de intenção de compra todas as maturações menos a de 10º Brix foram bem aceitas. Conclui-se que a uva 'Niagara Rosada' é adequada ao consumo nas faixas de 12, 14 e 16o Brix, contemplando a faixa de 12o Brix banida pela legislação brasileira. Conclui-se que acima de 16 Brix encontram-se em sobrematuração e impróprias para consumo 'in natura'. Conclui-se também que o parâmetro sólidos solúveis é inadequado para determinação da maturação. Uvas com 12o Brix obtiveram vida útil 22% maior que as faixas de 14 e 16o Brix que foram estatisticamente semelhantes. Conclui-se nas avaliações sensoriais que cachos na faixa dos 12 o Brix possuem poça rejeição pelo consumidor corroborando com as praticas comerciais correntes e que cachos com 14 e 16o Brix foram muito bem aceitos
Abstract: 'Niagara Rosada' is the main Brazilian table grape. The state of Sao Paulo is its largest producer with about 2000 vineyards (Oliveira et al. 2008). The cultivation of 'Niagara Rosada' is expanding because the low cost of production as compared to fine grapes, rusticity and less demands for agrochemicals. Despite 79 years of existence and those many cultivating advantages, 'Niagara Rosada' has very few post-harvest investigations in topics such as harvest time and its effect on shelf life, and consumer acceptance. The grape is often traded below the rate of maturation of the 14o Brix established by Brazilian legislation, and often, also sold immature, with little sugar content, high acidity, causing harm to all elements of the productivity chain. Producers are used to commercialize them even against legislation arguing the produce would not resist handling, packaging and transport if harvested in the recommended harvested stage. Given the above and to respond to qualitative variation of the main attributes of 'Niagara Rosada' in different degrees of maturation, this study aimed to investigate the variation in quality and service life of 'Niagara Rosada' when harvested in different stages f maturity. From these considerations the objectives of this work was to investigate the quality variation of 'Niagara Rosada' grapes harvested in different maturity, to establish the maturity stage with longer shelf life and consumer acceptance, and to contrast the current legislation that uses soluble solids to define a harvest stage against sugar acid rate, wich includes human perception. Initially, for those evaluations, clusters were harvested covering a wide maturity range, taking into consideration pruning date, phenological stage between 33 and 38, and classifying them according to soluble solids values ,within 1% variation, resulting in 9 maturity classes ranging from 8 to 17o Brix. Within this wide range, clusters were analyzed using sugar acid rate resulting in 3 maturation classes, 12, 14 and 16o Brix that further were used for quality and sensorial evaluation. Disease occurrence, mass loss, stem appearance, berry drop, cluster stiffness, vitamin C content, respiration rate, berry firmness and detachment force. For acceptance and consumer perception evaluation clusters having soluble solids values as low as 10o Brix were used. These analyses also included age group, appearance, flavor, acceptance, acidity and sugar taste intensity and buying intention of the 'Niagara Rosada' grape at different maturity stages. No difference was observed in the quality parameters such as mass loss, stem appearance, berry drop, vitamin C content and respiration rate among the considered maturity stages. However, maturity stages did influence disease occurrence, cluster stiffness, berry firmness and detachment force. During storage all temporal quality indicators showed variation, but not all of them could be used to determine shelf life. The ones used, then, were mass loss, stem appearance, berry drop and cluster stiffness that showed clear limits for admissible quality. Shelf life was identified as 6.5, 6.75, and 8.5 days corresponding to soluble solids values of 16, 14 and 12o Brix, respectively. Fruit color was the main acceptance criteria for consumers, followed by price and cluster size. As far as cluster appearance and color are concerned, the ripest ones were preferred. The sensorial panel was not able to differentiate maturity at 10 and 12o Brix maturity stages; berry drop up to 5% was accepted, supporting current legislation, but busted berries were not. Riper clusters were preferred. 'Niagara Rosada' was considered of little sugar content by the consumer and ideal concerning acidity. Buying intention included all maturity stages except the 10o Brix one. It was concluded that 'Niagara Rosada' grape is adequate for consumption when in the 12, 14 and 16o Brix maturity stages, which includes the 12o Brix stage, not accepted by current Brazilian legislation. It was concluded that above 16o Brix clusters are overripe and , therefore, not suitable for consumption. It was also concluded that soluble solids values are not suitable for maturity stage determination. Grapes with 12o B showed a 22 % greater shelf live than the other two considered maturity stages. Finally, it was concluded that 12o Brix cluster showed little rejection, supporting usual commercial practices. Clusters with 14 and 16o Brix were the most accepted
Doutorado
Tecnologia Pós-Colheita
Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola

Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The two white seedless table grape cultivars, Regal Seedless and Thompson Seedless fulfil a very important role in securing foreign income not only for the South African table grape industry, but the South African economy as a whole. These two cultivars, however, are like so many other white table grape cultivars, also prone to browning, especially netlike browning on Regal Seedless and internal browning on Thompson Seedless grapes. This leads to huge financial losses every year, since there is no established way to assess at harvest, during storage or during packaging, whether the grapes will eventually turn brown. In other words, there is no well-known protocol of assessing the browning risk of a particular batch of grapes prior to export. Numerous studies have been undertaken to determine the exact cause of browning and how it should be managed, but to date, no chemical or physical parameter has been firmly associated with the phenomenon. The overall aim of this study was thus to find an alternative way to deal with the problem by investigating the potential of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a fast, non-destructive measurement technique to determine the browning potential of whole white seedless table grapes. A secondary aim was the determination of optimal ripeness of table grapes. In this way harvest maturity and quality indicative parameters namely total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, glucose and fructose, also associated with the browning phenomenon, was quantified using models based on infrared spectra. Three different techniques (a) Fourier transform Near Infrared (FT-NIR), (b) Fourier transform – Mid Infrared (FT-MIR) and (c) Fourier transform – Mid Infrared Attenuated Total Reflectance (FT-MIR ATR) spectroscopy were investigated to determine these parameters. This was done so that a platform of different technologies would be available to the table grape industry. The grapes used in this study were harvested over two years (2008 and 2009) and were sourced from two different commercial vineyards in the Hex River valley, Western Cape, South Africa. Different crop loads (the total amount of bunches on the vines per hectare) were left for Regal Seedless (75 000, 50 000 and 35 000) and for Thompson Seedless (75 000 and 50 000). Three rows were used for Regal Seedless and two rows for Thompson Seedless. Each row had six sections which each represented a repetition for each crop load. In 2008 these cultivars were harvested early at 16°Brix, at optimum ripeness (18°Brix) and late at 20°Brix. In 2009 they were harvested twice at the optimum ripeness level. Berries from harvested bunches were crushed and the juice was used to determine the reference values for the different parameters in the laboratory according to their specific methods. The obtained juice was also scanned on the three different instruments. Different software (OPUS 6.5 for the FT-NIR and FT-MIR ATR instruments and Unscrambler version 9.2 for the FT-MIR instrument) as well as different spectral pre-processing techniques were also evaluated before construction of the models for all the instruments. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used for the construction of the different calibration models. Different regression statistics, that included the root mean square error for prediction (RMSEP); the coefficient of determination (R2); the residual prediction deviation (RPD) and the bias were used to evaluate the performance of the developed calibration models. Calibration models which are fit for screening purposes were obtained on the FT-NIR and FTMIR ATR instruments for TSS (11.40 - 21.80°Brix) (R2 = 85.92%, RMSEP = 0.71 °Brix RPD = 2.67 and bias = 0.03°Brix), pH (2.94 - 3.9) (R2 = 85.00%, RMSEP = 0.08 RPD = 2.59 and bias = -0.01) and TA (4.3 - 13.1 g/L), (R2 = 90.77%, RMSEP = 0.48 g/L RPD = 3.30 and bias = -0.03 g/L). Models for fructose (46.70 – 176.82 g/L) (R2 = 74.66%, RMSEP = 9.28 g/L RPD = 2.00 and bias = 1.10 g/L) and glucose (20.36 – 386.67 g/L) (R2 = 70.71%, RMSEP = 11.10 g/L RPD = 1.87 and bias = 1.64 g/L) were obtained with the FT-NIR and FT-MIR ATR instruments that were in some instances fit for screening purposes and in some instances unsuitable for quantification purposes. The FT-MIR instrument gave models for all the parameters that were not yet suitable for quantification purposes. Combined spectral ranges used for calibration were often similar for some parameters, namely 12 493 - 5 446.2 for TSS and pH, 6 101.9 - 5 446.2 for TSS, TA and fructose and 4 601.5 - 4 246.7 for pH and fructose on the FT-NIR instrument, 2 993.2 - 2 322.3 for pH, TA and glucose and 1 654.3 - 649.4 for pH and glucose on the FT-MIR ATR instrument and sometimes they were adjacent (3 996.6 - 3 661.2, 3 663.5 - 3 327.7 and 3 327.2 - 2 322.3 for TSS and glucose, 1 988.3 - 1 652.8 and 1 654.3 - 649.4 for TSS, pH and TA. Other times they were overlapping (1 654.3 - 649.4 and 1 318.8 - 649.4) for pH, TA and fructose on the FT-MIR ATR instrument. This is a very good sign for transfer of this technology to a handheld device, where adjacent and/ or overlapping wavenumbers are crucial. Instruments which have to determine different parameters over large spectral ranges are not only impractical, because the instrument has to be big, but because it is also very expensive. Another advantage of implementing especially FT-NIR spectroscopy as a fast, accurate and inexpensive technique for determining harvest maturity and quality parameters is because no sample preparation is necessary and very little waste (few single berries tested) is produced. This is a pre-requisite which is highly recommended in the green era that we are currently living in and will do so for aeons to come. A platform of technologies has now been made available through this study for the determination of the respective parameters in future table grape samples by just taking their spectra on one of the instruments. Indeed something that has not been possible or available for the South African table grape industry before. Berries for the browning experiments were scanned on a FT-NIR instrument immediately after harvest (before cold storage) and again after cold storage. Before cold storage they were scanned on each side of the berry and after cold storage they were scanned twice on a brown spot if browning was present and twice on a clear spot, irrespective of whether browning was present or not. Inspection of the berries for the incidence of browning after cold storage revealed that Regal Seedless had a higher incidence of browning (68% in 2008 and 66% in 2009) than Thompson Seedless (21% in 2008 and 25% in 2009). Regal Seedless was also more prone to external browning, specifically netlike browning, whereas Thompson Seedless was more prone to internal browning, despite the different phenotypes of browning that were present on both. Principal component analysis (PCA) done on the spectra obtained before and after cold storage revealed that NIR can capture the changes related to cold storage with the first principal components explaining almost 100% of the variation in the spectra. Classification models also build using PCA was based on spectra of berries that remained clear before and after cold storage and those that turned brown after cold storage. Classification models of berries based on spectra obtained after cold storage (browning present) had a better total accuracy (94% for training- and 87% for test datasets), than the classification models based on spectra obtained before cold storage (79% for training- and 64% for test datasets). The implication of this is that the current models will be able to classify berries in terms of those which have turned brown already and those that remained clear better after cold storage than before cold storage, which is the critical stage where we want to actually know whether the berries will turn brown or not. The potential, however, to use NIR spectroscopy to detect browning before harvest already on white seedless grapes is still present, since all these models were built using the whole NIR spectrum. No variable selection was thus done and all the different browning phenotypes were also used together. Further analysis of the data will thus be based on using variable selection techniques like particle swarm optimization (PSO) to select certain wavelengths strongly associated with the browning phenomenon and only on the main types of browning (netlike on Regal Seedless and internal browning on Thompson Seedless). This study has major implications for the table grape industry, since it is the first time that the possibility to predict browning with other methods than visual inspection, especially before cold storage, is shown.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die twee wit pitlose tafeldruif kultivars, Regal Seedless en Thompson Seedless onderskeidelik, speel 'n baie belangrike rol in die verkryging van buitelandse inkomste, nie net vir die Suid- Afrikaanse tafeldruif industrie nie, maar ook vir die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie as 'n geheel. Hierdie twee kultivars is egter, soos baie ander wit kultivars, ook geneig tot verbruining. Dit is veral netagtige verbruining op Regal Seedless en interne verbruining op Thompson Seedless wat pertinent is. Hierdie belangrike kwaliteitsprobleme lei jaarliks tot groot finansiële verliese, aangesien daar huidiglik geen gevestigde prosedure is om voor oes, tydens opberging of tydens verpakking te bepaal of die druiwe uiteindelik gaan verbruin nie. Met ander woorde, daar is geen gevestigde protokol vir die beoordeling van die verbruinings risiko van 'n bepaalde groep druiwe voor dit uitgevoer word nie. Talle studies is alreeds onderneem om vas te stel wat die presiese oorsaak van hierdie verskynsel is en hoe dit bestuur moet word, maar geen enkele aspek wat bestudeer is kon tot op hede, herhaaldelik ge-assosieer word met die presiese oorsaak van verbruining nie. Die oorkoepelende doel van hierdie studie was dus om 'n alternatiewe manier te kry om hierdie probleem aan te spreek. ‘n Ondersoek na die potensiaal van naby infrarooi (NIR) spektroskopie as 'n vinnige en nie-vernietigende metings tegniek om die verbruinings potensiaal van ‘n wit pitlose tafeldruifkorrel wat nog heel is te bepaal, is onderneem. 'n Sekondêre doel was om die bepaling van optimale rypheid van tafeldruiwe te onderosek. Op hierdie manier is oesrypheid, en die kwaliteitsfaktore, naamlik totale oplosbare vastestowwe (TOVS), titreerbare suur (TS), pH, glukose en fruktose, wat ook gekoppel word aan die voorkoms van verbruining, deur middel van infrarooi (IR) spektroskopie modelle gekwantifiseer. Drie verskillende infrarooi metodes naamlik (a) die Fourier transform naby infrarooi (FT-NIR), (b) Fourier transform - Mid Infrarooi (FT-MIR) en (c) Fourier transform - Mid Infrarooi Verswakte Totale Refleksie (FT-MIR VTR) spektroskopie is gebruik om die aspekte te bepaal. Dis gedoen sodat 'n platform van tegnologie beskikbaar sou wees vir die tafeldruif industrie. Die druiwe wat in hierdie studie gebruik is, is oor twee jaar (2008 en 2009) en van twee verskillende kommersiële wingerde in die Hexriviervallei, Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika ge-oes. Verskillende oesladings (die totale aantal trosse op die wingerdstokke per hektaar) is vir Regal Seedless (75 000, 50 000 en 35 000) en Thompson Seedless (75 000 en 50 000) gelaat. Daar is drie rye gebruik Regal Seedless en twee vir Thompson Seedless. Elke ry het ses vakkies gehad wat dan verteenwoordigend was van ‘n herhaling vir elke oeslading. In 2008 is hierdie kultivars by vroeë rypwording (16°Brix), by optimale rypheid (18°Brix) en by laat rypheid (20°Brix) geoes. In 2009 is dit twee keer by die optimale rypheidsgraad geoes. Vir die bepaling van oesrypheid, en die kwaliteitsapekte is verskillende sagteware (OPUS 6.5 op die FT-NIR en FT-MIR VTR instrumente en Unscrambler weergawe 9.2 vir die FT-MIR instrument) sowel as verskillende spektrale voor-verwerking tegnieke ëvalueer voor die konstruksie van die kalibrasie modelle op die verskillende instrumente. Parsiële kleinste kwadraat (PKK) regressie is gebruik vir die opstel van kalibrasiemodelle vir die bepaling van laasgenoemde aspekte. Verskillende statistieke gegewens is gebruik om die kalibrasie modelle te evalueer, naamlik die bepalingskoëffisiënt (R2), die vierkantswortelgemiddelde- kwadraat fout vir voorspelling (VGKV), relatiewe voorspellingsafwyking (RVA) en sydigheid. Kalibrasie modelle wat geskik is vir keuring is verkry op die FT-NIR en FT-MIR VTR instrumente vir TOVS (11.40 – 21.80°Brix) (R2 = 85.92%, VGKV = 0.71°Brix, RVA = 2.67 en sydigheid = 0.03°Brix), pH (2.94 – 3.9) (R2 = 85.00%, VGKV = 0.08 g/L, RVA = 2.59 en sydigheid = -0.01 g/L), en TS (4.3 – 13.1 g/L), (R2 = 90.77%, VGKV = 0.48 g/L RVA = 3.30 en sydigheid = -0.03 g/L). Modelle vir fruktose (46.70-176.82 g/L) (R2 = 74.66%, VGKV = 9.28 g/L RVA = 2.00 en sydigheid = 1.10 g/L) en glukose (20.36 – 386.67 g/L) (R2 = 70.71%, VGKV = 11.10 g/L RVA = 1.87 en sydigheid = 1.64 g/L) is verkry met die FT-NIR en FT-MIR VTR instrumente wat in sommige gevalle gepas was vir keuringsdoeleindes en in sommige gevalle nie geskik was vir kwantifiserings doeleindes nie. Die FT-MIR-instrument het modelle vir al die aspekte gegee wat nog nie vir kwantifiserings doeleindes of vir keuringsdoeleindes geskik was nie. Gekombineerde spektrale reekse is gebruik vir die kalibrasies wat dikwels soortgelyk was vir sommige aspekte naamlik 12 493 - 5 446.2 vir TOVS en pH, 6 101.9 - 5 446,2 vir TOVS, TS en fruktose en 4 601.5 - 4 246.7 vir pH en fruktose op die FT-NIR instrument, 2 993.2 - 2 322.3 vir pH, TA en glukose en 1 654.3 – 649.4 vir pH en glukose op die FT-MIR VTR instrument. Andersyds, was dit aangrensend (3 996.6 - 3 661.2, 3 663.5 - 3 327.7 en 3 327.2 - 2 322.3) vir TOVS en glukose, 1 988.3 - 1 652.8, 1 654.3 – 649.4 vir TOVS, pH en TS en ander tye was dit weer oorvleuelend 1 654.3 – 649.4 en 1 318.8 – 649.4 vir pH, TS en fruktose op die FT-MIR VTR instrument. Dit is 'n baie goeie teken vir die oordrag van hierdie tegnologie na ‘n handgedraagde instrument, waar aanliggende en/of oorvleuelende golfnommers noodsaaklik is. Instrumente wat verskillende aspekte oor groot spektrale reekse moet bepaal is nie net onprakties, omdat die instrument groot moet wees nie, maar dit is ook baie duur. Nog 'n voordeel van die implementering van veral FT-NIR spektroskopie as 'n vinnige, akkurate en goedkoop tegniek vir die bepaling van oesrypheid, en die kwaliteit aspekte van druiwe is omdat daar geen monster voorbereiding nodig is nie en baie min afval (paar enkele korrels word gemonster) geproduseer word. 'n Voorvereiste wat sterk aanbeveel kom in die groen era waarin ons tans leef en nog vir eeue van nou af gaan doen. ‘n Platform van tegnologie is nou beskikbaar gestel deur middel van hierdie studie vir die bepaling van die onderskeie aspekte in toekomstige tafeldruif monsters deur net op een van die instrumente hulle spektra te neem. Inderdaad iets wat nie voorheen moontlik of beskikbaar was vir die Suid- Afrikaanse tafeldruif industrie nie. Korrels vir die verbruiningseksperimente is geskandeer direk na oes (voor koelopberging) en weer na koelopberging. Dit was voor koelopberging op elke kant van die korrel skandeer en na koelopberging was dit twee maal skandeer op 'n bruin vlek indien verbruining teenwoordig was en twee keer op 'n helder plek, ongeag of verbruining teenwoordig was of nie. Inspeksie van die korrels vir die voorkoms van verbruining na koelopberging het aan die lig gebring dat Regal Seedless 'n hoër voorkoms van verbruining (68% in 2008 en 66% in 2009) as Thompson Seedless (21% in 2008 en 25% in 2009) gehad het. Regal Seedless was ook meer geneig om eksterne verbruining, spesifiek netagtige verbruining te vertoon, terwyl Thompson Seedless meer geneig was om interne verbruining te vertoon, ten spyte van die verskillende fenotipes van verbruining wat teenwoordig was op beide kultivars. Hoofkomponente analise (HKA) is op die spektra gedoen voor en na koelopberging en naby infrarooi spektroskopie het aan die lig gebring dat die veranderinge wat verband hou met koelopberging met die eerste hoofkomponent (HK) verduidelik kan word met byna 100% van die variasie in die spektra wat daarin vasgevang is. Klassifikasiemodelle is ook deur die gebruik van HKA gebou en was gebaseer op die spektra van korrels wat vekry is voor en na koelopberging asook die wat verkry is nadat korrels verbruin het na koelopberging. Klassifikasiemodelle van korrels wat gebaseer was op spektra na koelopberging (verbruining teenwoordig) het 'n beter algehele akkuraatheid (94% vir opleidingsdata en 87% vir toetsdata), getoon as die klassifikasiemodelle wat gebaseer was op spektra van korrels voor koelopberging (79% vir opleidings data en 64% vir toetsdata). Die implikasie hiervan is dat die huidige modelle in staat sal wees om korrels beter te klassifiseer in terme van diegene wat alreeds verbruin het en die wat nie verbruin het na koelopberging as daardie voor koelopberging, wat juis die kritieke stadium is waar ons wil weet of die korrels wel gaan verbruin of nie. Daar is wel potensiaal wat verder ontgin kan word, aangesien al hierdie modelle gebou is deur gebruik te maak van die hele NIR spektrum. Geen veranderlike seleksie is dus gedoen nie en al die verskillende verbruiningsfenotipes is ook saam gebruik in die opstel van die modelle. Verdere analise van die data sal dus gebaseer word op die gebruik van veranderlike seleksie tegnieke soos deeltjie swerm optimisasie (DSO) wat sekere golflengtes kies wat sterk verband hou met die verbruining verskynsel en slegs die belangrikste tipes van verbruining (netagtig op Regal Seedless en interne verbruining op Thompson Seedless) sal gebruik word. Hierdie studie het 'n baie belangrike implikasie vir die tafeldruifbedryf, want dit is die eerste keer dat die moontlikheid om verbruining te voorspel met ander metodes as visuele inspeksie, veral voor koelopberging, getoon word.
The Postharvest and Innovation Programme, for financing this study

A trial established in 2003 at Upper Moutere in Nelson, New Zealand, was used to evaluate the effect of mussel shells as reflective mulch on Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir vine performance and fruit and wine quality. Shell mulch had several effects on the environment and vine growth as well as grape and wine composition in the 2006/2007 season. Soil under mulch was cooler compared to un-mulched control, but buffered the extremes in temperatures. Fruiting zone temperature over shells was slightly higher during the day and cooler at night, showing no effect on mean hourly temperature. Shell mulch reflected greater amounts of UV-A, UV-B and PAR radiation into the fruiting zone. Shell reduced weed growth compared to control. Leaf petiole and blade samples showed higher amounts of calcium compared to control. Leaf SPAD values were higher in the shell treatment during veraison, previous and postharvest, but lower post budburst. While date of budburst was not affected by treatments, dates of flowering and veraison appeared to be slightly advanced over shells. Fruit set was similar between treatments and was considered poorer in shell bunches due to a larger population of seedless berries. Vine growth was not affected in terms of the number of nodes laid at pruning, flower cluster and shoot number pre shoot thinning, early shoot growth and lateral shoots development. Vigour was not increased by shells as demonstrated by pruning weights, canopy density and trunk circumferences being similar, though internode lengths in shell shoots were greater in 2007 and lower in 2006. Berry weights, bunch weights and vine yields were lower in shell than control, though greater berry numbers were recorded. There were slight differences between treatments in fruit and wine composition. Grape pH only varied in the middle of the sampling time, being higher the 2nd week and lower the 3rd week in shell grapes and TA was greater at harvest time. However, °Brix was only higher in shell grapes in the middle of the sampling period, being similar to control at veraison and harvest. Peduncle lignification was delayed at veraison as well as at harvest time. Shell must after crushing was greater in Brix but similar to control in pH and TA. Similarly, shell wines pre bottling showed higher alcohol and no differences for pH and TA. HPLC-DAD analyses of commercial-scale and microvin wines showed consistent differences of the individual flavonoid composition. Shell microvin wines were greater than control in quercetin and resveratrol. However, commercial shell wines were lower in epicatechin, gallic acid, resveratrol, and catechin than control. Leaf phenolic composition was also different between treatments. However, further analyses by HPLC-MS in wines as well as in leaves are necessary to identify individual compounds. Total anthocyanins and total phenolics were no different between treatments. Sensory analyses of microvin and commercial shell wines exhibited consistently lower levels of green and unripe tannins, and greater smoothness and complexity as well. Further analysis by GC-MS and HPLC-MS is warranted. Shell mulch improved sensory characteristics of the resulting wines.

Il recupero e valorizzazione delle risorse genetiche tipiche di una specifica area è importante non solo per salvaguardare la biodiversità vegetale, ma anche per promuovere l’immagine territoriale e la diversificazione dell’offerta dei prodotti alimentari. La Puglia è un’antica regione viticola, con un ricco patrimonio di varietà di vite. L'area della Daunia, in provincia di Foggia (Nord della Puglia), è la principale area viticola pugliese in termini di superficie e di produzione. Un totale di 35 genotipi di vite reperiti in tre diverse aree delle provincia dauna sono stati caratterizzati utilizzando quattordici marcatori microsatelliti (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, VVMD27, VrZAG62, VrZAG79, VVMD25, VVMD28, VVMD32, VVMD6, VVMD17, VVMD21, VVMD24, VMC1b11) per valutare la loro diversità genetica e analizzando le principali caratteristiche qualitative delle uve dal punto di vista tecnologico e fenolico, al fine di valutare il potenziale enologico di questi genotipi. Dalle analisi genetiche, sono stati trovati 30 diversi profili genetici e 3 sovrapposizioni. Confrontando i 30 profili genetici con quelli inclusi nei database internazionali e con quelli individuati da altre Istituzioni scientifiche, sono stati identificati 23 genotipi. La maggior parte di loro (87%) corrispondono a cultivar iscritte al Catalogo Nazionale delle Varietà di Vite (RNVV); i restanti genotipi (13%) non sono iscritti nel RNVV. Il profilo genetico degli altri 7 genotipi non è stato trovato in nessun database; pertanto, ciascuna di queste accessioni può essere considerata “genotipo unico”. Per quanto riguarda il potenziale enologico di queste accessioni, la maggior parte di esse ha mostrato caratteristiche qualitative interessanti. In particolare, tra i genotipi considerati “unici”, quattro accessioni, due a bacca bianca e due a bacca nera, hanno mostrato una buona attitudine per la produzione di vini monovarietali dotati di un buon grado alcolico, una buona stabilità, struttura, colore e sapore, ma, anche, per la produzione di uvaggi con altri vitigni. In conclusione, questo studio ha evidenziato la ricchezza di vecchi genotipi di vite coltivate nella provincia di Foggia e le capacità enologiche dell'uva prodotta da questi genotipi, analizzando gli aspetti tecnologici e le caratteristiche fenoliche utili per sostenere la realizzazione di vini monovarietali o di vini ottenuti dalla miscelazione di diverse varietà locali.
The recovery and valorization of genetic resources typical of a specific growing area is fundamental to preserve the specie genetic pool, and presently it is thought as a strategy to promote the territorial identity and the diversification of the local food products. Apulia is an ancient grapevine-growing region, having a rich heritage of grapevine varieties. The Daunia area, in the Foggia province (Northern Apulia), is the main Apulian viticultural area in terms of surface and production. A total of 35 grapevine genotypes found in three different areas of the province dauna were characterized using fourteen microsatellite markers (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, VVMD27, VrZAG62, VrZAG79, VVMD25, VVMD28, VVMD32, VVMD6, VVMD17, VVMD21, VVMD24, VMC1b11) to evaluate genetic diversity and assessing the main qualitative characteristics of their grapes from a technological and phenolic point of view, in order to evaluate the potential interest of these genotypes for the oenological use. According to their genetic profiles at SSR loci, 30 different genetic profiles and 3 overlays were found. Comparing the 30 genetic profiles with those included in international databases or with those detected by other scientific Institutions, 23 genotypes have been identified. Most of them (87%) were found to match cultivars enrolled in National Catalogue of Grapevine Varieties (RNVV); the remaining genotypes (13%) are not enrolled in RNVV. The genetic profile of the other 7 genotypes was not found in any database; thus, by now, each of these accessions can be considered as being a “unique genotype”. As concerns the oenological potential of the accessions, all of them showed interesting traits. In particular, among the genotypes considered “unique”, four accessions, two white-berry accession and two black berry-accessions, showed a good attitude for the production of mono-varietal wines with a good level of alcohol, stability, structure, color and flavor, but, also for the production of blended wines. In conclusion, this study has highlighted the richness of old grapevine genotypes grown in the Foggia province and the oenological skills of the grape produced by these genotypes, analyzing the technological and the phenolic traits that may be useful to support the making of mono-varietal wines or that of wines obtained by blending more local varieties

Doutoramento em Engenharia Alimentar - Instituto Superior de Agronomia
The grape berry microbiota is deeply influenced by the sanitary status of grapes. In sound grapes the most frequent yeast species were basidiomycetes, Aureobasidium pullulans, Candida zemplinina and Hanseniaspora uvarum. Sour rotten grapes were mostly colonised by C. zemplinina, H. uvarum, Issatchenkia spp. and Zygoascus hellenicus. The presence of minoritary populations of Zygosaccharomyces bailii was only found in damaged grapes. The acetic acid bacteria Gluconobacter spp. and Gluconoacetobacter spp. were isolated from healthy and injured grapes, while Acetobacter spp. was only associated with sour rot. Sour rot induced an increase of the sugar content, volatile acidity, colour and total phenols of grape juices. Wines with sour rot up to 30% showed equal overall quality after one year of bottle storage. However, wines made with sour rotten grapes showed a distinctive chemical and honey-like aroma. Phenylacetic acid and ethyl phenylacetate, both exhibiting honey-sweet like aromas, emerged as key-aroma compounds of sour rotten wines. The causal agents of sour rot were acetic acid bacteria disseminated by the insect Drosophila spp.. In the absence of these flies, putative plant defense mechanisms, probably mediated by the accumulation of phenylacetic acid, led to skin healing, preventing sour rot spreading

The effects of two SAR inducers (benzothiadiazole and chitosan) were investigated on volatile isoprenoid (mono- and sesquiterpene) and phytosterol (β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol) content in a grapevine cultivar (Groppello, autochthonous of Lombardy) and in its respective experimental wines. The efficacy of plant activators has been also assayed on the control of the potentially toxigenic grape mycoflora, by measuring the mycotoxin levels in wines.

The article presents the results of the experimental study of the effect of new-generation mineral fertilizer “Nutri-Fight” and water conditioner “Spartan” (used as a tank mixture) on productivity of grapes and quality of wine produced from the red wine grape variety ‘Cabernet-Sauvignon’. Experiments were carried out in the soil and climatic conditions of the mountain-valley zone of the Crimean Peninsula. The studied preparations were added to mineral fertilizer and used at such grape berry development stages as “before blooming”, “after blooming”, “pea-sized berry”, “beginning of fruit maturation”. In the course of the research we found that 2.25 l/ha of “Nutri-Fight” and 0.2 l/ha of water conditioner “Spartan” were the optimal rates and had positive effect on the grape yield and wine quality

The aim of the research was to assess the harmfulness of alternariosis on various genotypes of grape varieties. The difference in the intensity of development and spread of alternariosis in intra- and interspecific hybrids of grapes was 78.7 and 75.4 % at the end of the growing season. No harmful effect of alternariosis on the yield and quality of grapes of intraspecific hybrid (‘Sauvignon Blanc’ variety) was detected. Strong development on an interspecific hybrid (‘Bianca’ variety) led to the yield decrease by 48.6 %, and sugar content reduction – by 7.7 %.

The goals of the present research proposal were to elucidate the physiological and molecular basis of the regulation of stilbene metabolism in grape, against the background of (i) grape metabolic network behavior in response to drought and of (ii) varietal diversity. The specific objectives included the study of the physiology of the response of different grape cultivars to continuous WD; the characterization of the differences and commonalities of gene network topology associated with WD in berry skin across varieties; the study of the metabolic response of developing berries to continuous WD with specific attention to the stilbene compounds; the integration analysis of the omics data generated; the study of isolated drought-associated stress factors on the regulation of stilbene biosynthesis in plantaand in vitro. Background to the topic Grape quality has a complex relationship with water input. Regulated water deficit (WD) is known to improve wine grapes by reducing the vine growth (without affecting fruit yield) and boosting sugar content (Keller et al. 2008). On the other hand, irregular rainfall during the summer can lead to drought-associated damage of fruit developmental process and alter fruit metabolism (Downey et al., 2006; Tarara et al., 2008; Chalmers et al., 792). In areas undergoing desertification, WD is associated with high temperatures. This WD/high temperature synergism can limit the areas of grape cultivation and can damage yields and fruit quality. Grapes and wine are the major source of stilbenes in human nutrition, and multiple stilbene-derived compounds, including isomers, polymers and glycosylated forms, have also been characterized in grapes (Jeandet et al., 2002; Halls and Yu, 2008). Heterologous expression of stilbenesynthase (STS) in a variety of plants has led to an enhanced resistance to pathogens, but in others the association has not been proven (Kobayashi et al., 2000; Soleas et al., 1995). Tomato transgenic plants harboring a grape STS had increased levels of resveratrol, ascorbate, and glutathione at the expense of the anthocyanin pathways (Giovinazzo et al. 2005), further emphasizing the intermingled relation among secondary metabolic pathways. Stilbenes are are induced in green and fleshy parts of the berries by biotic and abiotic elicitors (Chong et al., 2009). As is the case for other classes of secondary metabolites, the biosynthesis of stilbenes is not very well understood, but it is known to be under tight spatial and temporal control, which limits the availability of these compounds from plant sources. Only very few studies have attempted to analyze the effects of different environmental components on stilbene accumulation (Jeandet et al., 1995; Martinez-Ortega et al., 2000). Targeted analyses have generally shown higher levels of resveratrol in the grape skin (induced), in seeded varieties, in varieties of wine grapes, and in dark-skinned varieties (Gatto et al., 2008; summarized by Bavaresco et al., 2009). Yet, the effect of the grape variety and the rootstock on stilbene metabolism has not yet been thoroughly investigated (Bavaresco et al., 2009). The study identified a link between vine hydraulic behavior and physiology of stress with the leaf metabolism, which the PIs believe can eventually lead to the modifications identified in the developing berries that interested the polyphenol metabolism and its regulation during development and under stress. Implications are discussed below.

Objectives: The objectives of the proposal were to study how potassium (K) enters the berry and in what tissues it accumulates, to determine what is the sensitive phenological stage that is responsive to K, to study the influence of K on sugar translocation, to determine if K has effects on expression of genes in source and sink organs and to study applied aspects of the responses to K at the vineyard level. During the research it was realized that K acts externally so a major part of the original objectives had to be deserted and new ones, i.e. the role of K in enhancing water loss from the berry, had to be developed. In addition, the US partners developed practical objectives of understanding the interaction of K application and water deficit as well as application of growth regulators. Background: In our preliminary data we showed that application of K at mid-ripening enhanced sugar accumulation of table grapes. This finding is of major implications to both early and late harvested grapes and it was essential to understand the mode of action of this treatment. Our major hypothesis was that K enters the berry and by that increases sugar translocation into the berry. In addition it was important to cover practical issues of the application which may influence its efficacy and its reproducibility. Conclusions: The major conclusion from the research was that our initial hypothesis was wrong. Mineral analysis of pulp tissue indicated that upon application of K there was a significant increase in most of the major minerals. Subsequently, we developed a new hypothesis that K acts by increasing the water loss from the berry. In vitro studies of K-treated berries corroborated this hypothesis showing greater weight-loss of treated berries. This was not necessarily expressed in the vineyard as in some experiments berry weight remained unchanged, suggesting that the vine compensated for the enhanced water loss. Importantly, we also discovered that the efficacy of different K salts was strongly correlated to the pH of the salt solution: basic K salts had better efficacy than neutral or acidic salts and modifying the pH of the same salt changed its efficacy. It was therefore suggested that K changes the properties of the cuticle making it more susceptible to water loss. Of the practical aspects it was found that application of K to the clusters was sufficient to trigger its affect and that dual application of K had a stronger effect than single application. With regard to timing, it was realized that application of K after veraison was affective and the berries responded also when ripe. While the effect of K application was significant at harvest, it was mostly insignificant one week after application, suggesting that prolonged exposure to K was required. Implications: The scientific implications of the study are that the external mineral composition of the berry may have a significant role in sugar accumulation and that water loss may have an important role in sugar accumulation in grapes. It is not entirely clear how K modulates the cuticle but according to the literature its incorporation into the cuticle may increase its polarity and facilitate generation of "water bridges" between the flesh and the environment. The practical implications of this study are very significant because realizing the mode of action of K can facilitate a much more efficient application strategy. For example, it can be understood that sprays must be directed to the clusters rather than the whole vines and it can be predicted that the length of exposure is important. Also, by increasing the pH of simple K salts, the efficacy of the treatment can be enhanced, saving in the costs of the treatment. Finally, the ability of grape growers to apply K in a safe and knowledgeable way can have significant impact on the length of the season of early grape cultivars and improve the flavor of high grape yields which may otherwise have compromised sugar levels.

Grapevine is perhaps the most widely grown fruit crop. To understand the genetic make-up so as to improve the yield and quality of grapes and grape products, researchers in Europe have recently sequenced the genomes of Pinot noir and its inbred. As expected, function of many grape genes is unknown. Functional genomics studies have become the major focus of grape researchers and breeders. Current genetic approaches for gene function studies include mutagenesis, crossing and genetic transformation. However, these approaches are difficult to apply to grapes and takes long periods of time to accomplish. It is thus imperative to seek new ways for grape functional genomics studies. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) offers an attractive alternative for this purpose and has proven highly effective in several herbaceous plant species including tomato, tobacco and barley. VIGS offers several advantages over existing functional genomics approaches. First, it does not require transformation to silence a plant gene target. Instead, it induces silencing of a plant gene through infection with a virus that contains the target gene sequence, which can be accomplished within a few weeks. Second, different plant genes can be readily inserted into the viral genome via molecular cloning and functions of a large number of genes can be identified within a short period of time. Our long-term goal of this research is to develop VIGS-based tools for grapevine functional genomics, made of the genomes of Grapevine virus A (GVA) from Israel and Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV) from Canada. GVA and GRSPaV are members of the Flexiviridae. Both viruses have single-stranded, positive sense RNA genomes, which makes them easy to manipulate genetically and excellent candidates as VIGS vectors. In our three years research, several major breakthroughs have been made by the research groups involved in this project. We have engineered a cDNA clone of GVA into a binary vector that is infectious upon delivery into plantlets of micropropagated Vitis viniferacv. Prime. We further developed the GVA into an expression vector that successfully capable to silence endogenous genes. We also were able to assemble an infectious full-length cDNA clones of GRSPaV. In the following sections Achievements and Detailed description of the research activities, we are presenting the outcome and results of this research in details.

Food is an essential to our existence but under certain conditions it could become the origin to the accumulative health damages. Technological processes as heating, chopping, mincing, grounding, promote the lipid oxidation process in muscle tissues and meat foodstuffs. Lipid oxidation occurred rapidly in turkey muscle, intermediate in duck, and slowest in chicken during frozen storage. Depletion of tocopherol during frozen storage was more rapid in turkey and duck compared to chicken. These processes developed from lipid peroxides produce many cytotoxic compounds including malondialdehyde (MDA). The muscle tissue is further oxidized in stomach conditions producing additional cytotoxic compounds. Oxidized lipids that are formed during digestion of a meal possess the potential to promote reactions that incur vascular diseases. A grape seed extract (1% of the meat weight) and butylated hydroxytoluene (0.2% of the lipid weight) were each effective at preventing formation of lipid oxidation products for 3 hours during co-incubation with cooked turkey meat in simulated gastric fluid (SGF). Polyphenols in the human diet, as an integral part of the meal prevent the generation and absorption of cytotoxic compounds and the destruction of essential nutrients, eg. antioxidants vitamins during the meal. Polyphenols act as antioxidants in the gastrointestinal tract; they scavenge free radicals and may interact with reactive carbonyls, enzymes and proteins. These all reactions results in decreasing the absorption of reactive carbonyls and possible other cytotoxic compounds into the plasma. Consumptions of diet high in fat and red meat are contributory risk factors partly due to an increase production of cytotoxic oxidized lipid products eg. MDA. However, the simultaneously consumption of polyphenols rich foods reduce these factors. Locating the biological site of action of polyphenols in the in the gastrointestinal tract may explain the paradox between the protective effect of a highly polyphenols rich diet and the low bioavailability of these molecules in human plasma. It may also explain the "French paradox" and the beneficial effect of Mediterranean and Japanese diets, in which food products with high antioxidants content such as polyphenols are consumed during the meal.

Original objectives . 1. Test anti-fungal gene products for activity against Uncinula necator, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer and Botrytis cinerea. 2. For Agrobacterium transformation, design appropriate vectors with gene combinations. 3. Use biolistic bombardment and Agrobacterium for transformation of important cultivars. 4. Characterize gene expression in transformants, as well as level of powdery mildew and Botrytis resistance in foliage of transformed plants. Background The production of new grape cultivars by conventional breeding is a complex and time-consuming process. Transferring individual traits via single genes into elite cultivars was proposed as a viable strategy, especially for vegetatively propagated crops such as grapevines. The availability of effective genetic transformation procedures, the existence of genes able to reduce pathogen stress, and improved in vitro culture methods for grapes, were combined to serve the objective of this proposal. Effective deployment of resistance genes would reduce production costs and increase crop quality, and several such genes and combinations were used in this project. Progress The efficacy of two-way combinations of Trichoderma endochitinase (CHIT42), synthetic peptide ESF12 and resveratrol upon the control of growth of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum were evaluated in vitro. All pairwise interactions were additive but not synergistic. Per objective 2, suitable vectors with important gene combinations for Agrobacterium transformation were designed. In addition, multiple gene co-transformation by particle bombardment was also tested successfully. In New York, transformation work focused on cultivars Chardonnay and Merlot, while the technology in Israel was extended to 41B, R. 110, Prime, Italia, Gamay, Chardonnay and Velika. Transgenic plant production is summarized in the appendix. Among plants developed in Israel, endochitinase expression was assayed via the MuchT assay using material just 1-5 days after co-cultivation. Plants of cv. Sugraone carrying the gene coding for ESF12, a short anti-fungal lytic peptide under the control of the double 358 promoter, were produced. Leaf extracts of two plants showed inhibition zones that developed within 48 h indicating the inhibitory effect of the leaf extracts on the six species of bacteria. X fastidiosa, the causal organism of Pierce's disease, was very sensitive to leaf extracts from ESF12 transformed plants. Further work is needed to verify the agricultural utility of ESF12 transformants. In New York, some transformants were resistant to powdery mildew and Botrytis fruit rot. Major conclusions, solutions, achievements and implications The following scientific achievements resulted from this cooperative BARD project: 1. Development and improvement of embryogenesis and tissue culture manipulation in grape, while extending these procedures to several agriculturally important cultivars both in Israel and USA. 2. Development and improvement of novel transformation procedures while developing transformation techniques for grape and other recalcitrant species. 3. Production of transgenic grapevines, characterization of transformed vines while studying the expression patterns of a marker gene under the control of different promoter as the 35S CaMV in different part of the plants including flowers and fruits. 4. Expression of anti-fungal genes in grape: establishment of transgenic plants and evaluation of gene expression. Development of techniques to insert multiple genes. 5. Isolation of novel grape specific promoter to control the expression of future antimicrobial genes. It is of great importance to report that significant progress was made in not only the development of transgenic grapevines, but also in the evaluation of their potential for increased resistance to disease as compared with the non engineered cultivar. In several cases, increased disease resistance was observed. More research and development is still needed before a product can be commercialized, yet our project lays a framework for further investigations.

Background : Banana being a monocot and having distinct peel and pulp tissues is unique among the fleshy fruits and hence can provide a more comprehensive understanding of fruit ripening. Our previous research which translated ripening discoveries from tomato, led to the identification of six banana fruit-associated MADS-box genes, and we confirmed the positive role of MaMADS1/2 in banana ripening. The overall goal was to further elucidate the banana ripening signaling pathway as mediated by MADS-boxtranscriptional regulators. Specific objectives were: 1) characterize transcriptional profiles and quality of MaMADS1/2 repressed fruit; 2) reveal the role of additional MaMADSgenes in ripening; 3) develop a model of fruit MaMADS-box mode of action; and 4) isolate new components of the banana ripening signaling pathway. Major conclusion: The functions of the banana MaMADS1-5 have been examined by complimenting the rinor the TAGL1-suppressed lines of tomato. Only MaMADS5 exhibited partial complementation of TAGL1-suppressed and rinlines, suggesting that while similar genes play corresponding roles in ripening, evolutionary divergence makes heterologous complementation studies challenging. Nevertheless, the partial complementation of tomato TAGL1-surpessed and rinlines with MaMADS5 suggests this gene is likely an important ripening regulator in banana, worthy of further study. RNA-seqtranscriptome analysis during ripening was performed on WT and MaMADS2-suppressed lines revealing additional candidate genes contributing to ripening control mechanisms. In summary, we discovered 39 MaMADS-box genes in addition to homologues of CNR, NOR and HB-1 expressed in banana fruits, and which were shown in tomato to play necessary roles in ripening. For most of these genes the expression in peel and pulp was similar. However, a number of key genes were differentially expressed between these tissues indicating that the regulatory components which are active in peel and pulp include both common and tissue-specific regulatory systems, a distinction as compared to the more uniform tomato fruit pericarp. Because plant hormones are well documented to affect fruit ripening, the expressions of genes within the auxin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic and ethylene signal transduction and synthesis pathways were targeted in our transcriptome analysis. Genes’ expression associated with these pathways generally declined during normal ripening in both peel and pulp, excluding cytokinin and ethylene, and this decline was delayed in MaMADS2-suppressed banana lines. Hence, we suggest that normal MaMADS2 activity promotes the observed downward expression within these non-ethylene pathways (especially in the pulp), thus enabling ripening progression. In contrast, the expressions of ACSand ACOof the ethylene biosynthesis pathway increase in peel and pulp during ripening and are delayed/inhibited in the transgenic bananas, explaining the reduced ethylene production of MaMADS2-suppressed lines. Inferred by the different genes’ expression in peel and pulp of the gibberellins, salicylic acid and cytokinins pathways, it is suggested that hormonal regulation in these tissues is diverse. These results provide important insights into possible avenues of ripening control in the diverse fruit tissues of banana which was not previously revealed in other ripening systems. As such, our transcriptome analysis of WT and ripening delayed banana mutants provides a starting point for further characterization of ripening. In this study we also developed novel evidence that the cytoskeleton may have a positive role in ripening as components of this pathway were down-regulated by MaMADS2 suppression. The mode of cytoskeleton involvement in fruit ripening remains unclear but presents a novel new frontier in ripening investigations. In summary, this project yielded functional understanding of the role and mode of action of MaMADS2 during ripening, pointing to both induction of ethylene and suppression of non-ethylene hormonal singling pathways. Furthermore, our data suggest important roles for cytoskeleton components and MaMADS5 in the overall banana ripening control network. Implications: The project revealed new molecular components/genes involved in banana ripening and refines our understanding of ripening responses in the peel and pulp tissues of this important species. This information is novel as compared to that derived from the more uniform carpel tissues of other highly studied ripening systems including tomato and grape. The work provides specific target genes for potential modification through genetic engineering or for exploration of useful genetic diversity in traditional breeding. The results from the project might point toward improved methods or new treatments to improve banana fruit storage and quality.

The main purpose of the research was to examine approaches and to evaluate methods for minimizing the risks during applying treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation. This general purpose consisted of examining under field conditions the possibilities when implementing different application technologies for minimizing health and environmental risks. It was assumed that Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) will provide adequate conditions for safe effluent reuse. Controlled field experiments where conducted in commercial fields to evaluate the alternatives. Main efforts where conducted in Israel in the grape vineyard in Arad heights, in the field crops in Kibbutz Chafets Chaim and in Arizona in fields adjacent to the University campus. The complementary part was to examine the behavior of the various pathogens in the effluent-soil-plant system. The analysis is based on controlled experiments, primarily in greenhouse along with field experiments. Molecular biology methods were used to identify the behavior of the pathogens in the components of the system. The project included as well examining the effluent quality in various sites, primarily those in which treated wastewater is reused for agricultural irrigation. The monitoring included conventional parameters however, also parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The results obtained indicate the prominent advantages of using Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) method for minimizing health and environmental risks during application of secondary effluent. A theoretical model for assessing the risks while applying treated wastewater was completed as well. The management model shows the risks during various scenarios of wastewater quality, application technology and related human exposure.