QUALITY OF PINK LADY ® BRAND APPLE
Apple (Malus domestica Borkh, ‘Pink Lady ® brand’) fruit were harvested from one California orchard in 2002, 2003 and 2004 at two or three different maturity stages each year. Fruit were evaluated for background color, firmness, fruit size, percentage of blush, starch index (CTIFL chart), soluble solids, titratable acidity and carbon dioxide (CO2) production and immediately stored at 33 oF in air or in controlled atmosphere (CA). In 2003, additional treatments included 1 ppm of SmartFresh ® (1-MCP) or 2200 ppm of diphenylamine (DPA). Firmness, CO2 production, external condition and internal browning were determined after storage in CA or air and 5 days at 68 oF. Fruit stored in CA conserved higher firmness and produced less CO2. Internal browning was not seen in fruit stored in air, but appeared in fruit after two months storage in CA. The incidence did not increase after longer storage times. SmartFresh ® worked as well as CA in conserving the quality of the fruit. It did not affect the incidence of internal browning, but DPA inhibited internal browning completely. When comparing similar storage atmospheres for all three seasons, the incidence of internal browning was significantly different, being much higher in 2002 and 2004. A mineral analysis of the apple flesh showed differences among the seasons. Concentrations of calcium (Ca), boron (B) and magnesium (Mg) were significantly higher in 2003, corresponding with a lower incidence of internal browning.
Role of physical and chemical performance during storage of apple cultivar
The fruit of apple (Malus domestica) cultivars Golden Delicious Red, Delicious, Red Gala and Honeycrisp were harvested at optimum maturity and stored at 5±2°C with 70-80 percent relative humidity. Physiochemical changes were determined in fruit at 30 days interval during storage and significant differences were observed among apple cultivars. Storage resulted in significant increased in weight loss, bitter pit incidence and soft rot, while juice content, starch score, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, total sugar, pH, TSS: Acid ratio ascorbic acid, firmness and density of fruit decreased with increasing storage duration. Harvesting at mid mature stage and calcium chloride (9%) treatment for 9 minutes resulted in enhanced storage performance.
Hill country sheep production. I. The influence of age, flock, and year on some components of reproduction rate in Romney and Border Leicester × Romney ewes.
Data from 7,091 straightbred Romney and Border Leicester × Romney ewes grazed at the Whatawhata Hill Country Research Station over the period 1959 to 1967 have been used to obtain estimates of flock and age-of-ewe effects on reproduction rate and its components and of year-to-year variation. The ewes were from six groups: a Romney control (RCR) flock, a Romney flock in which ewes were mated either to Romney (RER) or to Border Leicester rams (REB), and flocks of first-cross (F1), second-cross (F2), and third-cross (F3) Border Leicester × Romney ewes mated to first-cross Border Leicester × Romney rams. The ewes' ages at lambing varied from 2 to 5 years and no selection was practised. The ratio of number of lambs weaned per ewe present at lambing increased from the RCR (0.84) to the F1 (1.07), then declined with interbreeding to the F2 (0.92) and further to the F3 (0.87) ewes. Similar changes were evident for the percentage of ewes lambing, of multiple births, and of lambs surviving to weaning. Over...