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  • Epidemiology of brown rot on two apple cultivars in an organic apple orchard
    49-52.
    Views:
    161

    In a two-year-study, the temporal development of brown rot (Monilinia fructigena) on fruits was analysed in an organic apple orchard on an early (Prima) and one late (Idared) maturing cultivars at Debrecen-Józsa in Hungary. Out of five mathematical functions (linear, exponential, three-parameter logistic, Gompertz, Bertalanffy-Mitscherlich), the three-parameter logistic function gave the best fit to brown rot incidence of all cultivars in both years. Disease progress started at the end of June for cv. Prima and at the end of July for cv. Idared, then disease increased continuously from 6-8 weeks up to harvest in all cultivars. Descriptive disease variates derived from the three-parameter logistic function were used to analyse disease progress. These were: Yf, the final disease incidence; Y55, fruit incidence at day 55; Y95, fruit incidence at day 95; b and q, the relative and the absolute rate of disease progress, respectively; T1.5, the time when disease incidence reaches 1.5 %; M, the inflection point and AUDPC, area under disease progress curve. Descriptive disease variates were significantly different (P<0.05) for cv. Prima compared to cv. Idared, except for the relative and absolute rate of disease increase, b and q, respectively. The largest differences among cultivars were in the values of the AUDPC. Disease progress curves and descriptive disease variates were presented and the practical implications of the results were discussed.

  • The effect of rootstock on the nectar production of apple cultivar `Idared'
    15-25.
    Views:
    126

    Approaches based on the daily rhythm of apple flowers provide a new stage in nectar research, where the synchronous functioning of sexual organs is studied. In the flower biological studies the insect attraction of flowers was also studied. The two most important factors of insect attraction are the pollen- and nectar production of the flowers. From 1993 to 1998 we studied the food, that flower had to offer for the pollinating insects at different times of the day.

    Studies were carried out on 'Idared', one of the hybrids of 'Jonathan' apple cultivar. The fruit of 'Idared' is bigger than the fruit of `Jonathan'. It is bright red, transportable, has a bigger productivity and is not subject to Jonathan-spots. Concerning its inner characteristics, it is juicy, the flesh consistency is better than that of 'Jonathan', but its acid/sugar ratio is worse (Sansavini et al. 1981).

     

  • Scab resistance in Malus sp. progenies - inheritance and resistance stability
    9-15.
    Views:
    128

    Susceptibility of progenies of some Ma/us species to apple scab was evaluated. Susceptibility of hybrid families was observed first in greenhouse after artificial inoculations by the suspension of the pathogen, Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint., then in open field. The Hungarian type of Malus floribunda, which proved to be scab resistant in our examinations, has a positive effect on the segregation of progenies to resistant and susceptible individuals as a male parent, not depending on the rate of susceptibility of the other parent. However, the German type of Malus floribunda and Malus prunifolia act as dominant, highly susceptible parents.

    Malus x purpurea and Malus baccata, which proved to be highly susceptible to apple scab in open field and in artificial inoculations, transmits its susceptibility only slightly to its progenies as a male parent.

    According to our experiments, the inheritance of scab resistance of Malus floribunda cannot be considered as monogenic, as published by other authors.

    Scab susceptibility of parents influences the segregation of progenies to resistant or susceptible individuals. The moderately scab susceptible `Idared' as female parent has a statistically proved positive effect on the segregation of its progenies.

    More factors indicate the appearance of a new race of Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint.: change of the symptoms in the greenhouse; considerable increase of susceptible individuals after greenhouse inoculation in 1997; more and more progenies of the male parent Malus floribunda became susceptible to scab in open field.

  • Metaxenic pollen effect of scab resistant apple cultivars on the fruit of apple
    47-52.
    Views:
    138

    As a part of an apple breeding program, we have examined the pollen effect on the fruit appearance and inner quality of different apple cultivars in the Corvinus University of Budapest Department of Fruit Science. Five apple cultivars ('Golden Reinders', 'Regal Prince', 'Rewena', 'Renora', 'Idared') have been crossed by the pollen of some new and some traditional cultivars in our experiment. The measurements were carried out in the analytic and fruit examining laboratory of the Department of Fruit Science. The diameter, height and stem length were measured by digital caliper. We have also examined the squash ratio, soluble solid- and acidic content. Sugar content was calculated by a schedule released by the International Sugar Committee (ISC). From the sugar- and acidic content, we could also count the Pomona-value.

    We have observed interesting effects according to some attributes in some crossing combinations with the help of statistical analysis. Crossing 'Golden Delicious' with 'Freedom', 'Prima', and 'Baujade' have resulted in smaller fruit size than other combinations. No significant differences could be observed on `Golden Reinders' fruits according to metaxenic coloration in the year of the examination. On the other hand the color modifying effect of pollen donating cultivars have manifested on the red fruits of 'Regal Prince' (Gala Must). `Freedom' as a pollen donating cultivar has resulted outstanding value in our consistency measurements. Squash ratio was the highest in combinations pollinated by 'Prima' and `Reglindis'. We have noticed balanced values when measuring inner qualities, only `Reka' has caused lower acidic content. Significant differences have been found in combinations according to the number of frivolous seeds. No frivolous seeds were found in the combinations 'Golden Reinders' x 'Freedom' and 'Idared' x 'Prima'. Almost two frivolous seeds were found in the fruits of the combination 'Renora' x 'Sóvári' in average.

  • Consumer preference for apples: the role of attributes influencing the choice and consumption
    37-43.
    Views:
    260

    Consumers consider good quality fruits to be those that look good, are firm and offer good flavour and nutritive value. Nowadays, consumers are, however, increasingly  interested  in food qualities which  cannot  be discovered  by  looking, tasting or smelling  the products but their roles are not yet really cleared up. Therefore the objective of this study was to explore the importance of selected kinds of attributes (taste, size, colour, cultivar, origin and price) in fluencing the choice of apples of customers. In accordance with several authors, fruit qualities (taste, size and colour) seemed to be the major attributics influencing the choice of apple independently of people's age and gender. However, the size of fruit had lower importance with increased age. Generally, females gave higher importance rating for most attributes than did male. The price was getting more important for consumer's choice with age which can be connected with their socioeconomic situation. The origin of fruit and the cultivar did not have important influence on consumer's choice. Authors also investigated the preference of consumers for six selected apple varieties ('Jonagold', 'ldared', 'Royal Gala', 'Golden Reinders', 'Braeburn' and 'Granny Smith'). and pointed out the role of the origin in fruit quality and in choice of apple in the case of 'Granny Smith' cultivar. Apple fruit samples from Austria, Argentina, Chile, Hungary and South Africa were involved in this study. Authors evaluated fruit quality parameters of above cultivars and compared them to consumer preference. Consumer preference usually represented the quality attributes of the fruit well. It is also concluded that degree of liking of apple cultivars varies through gender and age. Children and young consumers preferred 'Royal Gala', 'Granny Smith  and 'Braeburn' mostly. In spite of 'Idared' is one of the cultivars grown on the largest area in Hungary, the lowest preference ratings were given for it in both gender categories. Middle-aged consumers (between 25 and 50 years or age) preferred crispy apples with red or blemished skin color ('Royal Gala' and 'Jonagold'). 'Jonagold' and 'Idared' were the most preferred cultivars for the consumers above the age of 50 likely because of their relatively low price, as price plays a significant influencing role in the purchase of these consumers. The relatively expensive and soury 'Granny Smith' appeared not really preferred by this age group. In spite of the significant differences in instrumentally measured fruit quality parameters among 'Granny Smith' fruit samples from different countries, consumers did not give significantly different preference rating scores for those.

  • The effect of nitrogen supply on specific yield and fruit quality of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.)
    7-21.
    Views:
    165

    The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of nitrogen supply on yield and fruit quality of apple cultivars and to explore the relationships between canopy density and the different fruit quality parameters.

    The experiments were carried out at Kálmánháza, in Eastern Hungary in a private orchard in 2003-2004. The response of four apple cultivars ('Elstar', 'Gala Prince', 'Granny Smith', 'Idared') to different nitrogen dosages was studied. The assessed and calculated indices were: yield, fruit diameter, fruit height, shape index, fruit mass, firmness, dry matter content and colouration. The results indicated that nitrogen fertilization has a significant effect on the yield and fruit quality of apple cultivars. The calculated specific yield values were reduced by the application of nitrogen via the increase in the volume of the canopy. An opposit trend was observed for fruit diameter, fruit height and fruit weight, which increased with increasing nitrogen supply. The reduced shape index caused flattening of fruits.

    However, the improvement of fruit quality via increasing nitrogen dosage is only virtual, since these dosages increase the fruit size, but firmness, dry matter content and colouration are diminished, which decreases the value of the fruits on the market.

    The authors also studied the relationships between canopy density responsible for assimilation and light supply of the fruits and the different fruit quality parameters. The closest linear inversely proportional relationship was found in the case of colouration. There was a negative linear relationship between canopy density and firmness or dry matter content. The relationship between canopy density and fruit mass could be described by a quadratic polinomial function.

  • Anatomical study of the leaves and petioles of scab resistant and susceptible apple cultivars
    53-57.
    Views:
    132

    Anatomic studies have been performed on the leaf blade, petiole and annual shoot on six apple cultivars by means of scanning electron as well as light microscope. Four of the cultivars examined are resistant to scab (Florina, Freedom, MR-10, MR-11), whereas two of them are susceptible (Jonathan and Idared). Preliminary results suggest that differences in the width of cross sections of leaf blades, in hairyness, in the shape and size of epidermal cells, moreover, in the cross sections of petioles and shoots are considerable. Some of the anatomical properties seem to be correlated with scab resistance or susceptility of the respective cultivars. Therefore, further studies extending to other cultivars may corroborate our claims to find causal relations between anatomical traits of the leaves and disease, especially scab resistance of apple cultivars.

  • Apple allergens as affected by cultivation technolog and variental factors
    91-93.
    Views:
    208

    Our objective was to study the effect of organic farming and area of cultivation on the allergen content of apple varieties by quantification of the major allergens (Mal d 1 and Mal d 2) using allergen-specific ELISA. The obtained results showed that except Idared IX. 29. most of examined varieties, when cultivated under organic farming conditions, contained lower level of Mal d1 allergen than those produced with integrated farming. The different varieties were found to vary substantially in theirMal d 1 allergen content. Furthermore, with some varieties the area of cultivation affected to some extent the content of Mal d 1 allergen.

  • Ecological drought resistance and adaptability of apple varieties
    113-122.
    Views:
    288

    For adequate yields in apple plantations, during the long growing period of the fruit primordia, one of the decisive factors is water supply. Indicators of stress are valuable signs for the diagnosis of drought and necessity of watering, i.e. planning the irrigation of plantations. The aim of the present study was to find reliable signs of water stress on apple trees and at the same time conclude on the drought tolerance of different varieties. The plantation of apple varieties grafted on various stocks and cultivated according to different systems (irrigated, non irrigated, integrate and biological) has been examined continuously by leaf analysis. Along the period of growing fruits, measurements were made in the field, then the leaf samples were analysed in the laboratory for composition of pigments, carbohydrates and antioxidants, as well as the histology of the tissues checked. Without irrigation, the mean leaf mass and the relative chlorophyll content (SPAD) of the variety Idared on M4 stocks increases beyond the values of 50 SPAD, whereas on M26 stock and integrated system, it declines. In the collection of varieties, grown according to the „integrated” system, during the development of fruits, ‘Gála’ and ‘Remo’ varieties have been affiliated to the “less susceptible” group regarding drought tolerance because of the leaf morphology, structure and content of SPAD and antioxidants. However, ‘Idared’ and ‘Jonagold’ belong to the “susceptible” group. To the same group are ranged the ‘Akane, Red Rome vanWell, Pink Lady’ varieties. Those varieties reacted to a short period of drought by increased production (content) of carbohydrates. Regarding changes of carbohydrate content ‘Greensleeves’ and ‘Ozark Gold’ varieties belong to the moderately water dependent (requiring) group. In the field, SPAD-tests facilitated the measurement of nutrient-uptake and incorporation, which is proved by the tight correlation between the data of SPAD and the increment of leaf weight (r=0.76–r=0.88), however, this depends on the variety too. SPAD is an indicator of water supply and is related with the density of stomata, cannot used for the selection of water-exigent varieties but for (drought) tolerant ones. In integrated culture, the (drought) susceptible varieties display (water-soluble) hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants (ACWand ACL resp.) the quantity of which may have some role in drought tolerance.

  • Fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) susceptibility of old Hungarian apple cultivars
    35-38.
    Views:
    135

    The aim of the Hungarian apple breeding program started in the Department of Fruit Science was to find resistant apple cultivars against major diseases (scab, powdery mildew, fire blight). The outbreak of fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) in 1996 motivated us to search new resistant sources principally from old traditional apple cultivars. First of all, cultivars have been gathered since 1997 from Carpathia (Visk) and evaluated between 2001 and 2003. In this recent study evaluation of resistance of old Hungarian genotypes to fire blight collected from the English National Fruit Collection (Brogdale, Faversham) is presented.

    13 old Hungarian apple cultivars in 2002, and 38 genotypes in 2005 have been evaluated. We used `Idared' and 'Jonathan M41' as susceptible controls and 'Liberty' and 'Remo' as resistant ones. Shoots of two-year-old potted plants were inoculated with a mixture of virulent E. amylovora isolates (Ea2, Ea60, Ea67) at a concentration of 5 x 108 cells/ml. Resistance of apple cultivars was evaluated weekly, four times after inoculation by disease severity of symptoms. Numbers of bacterial colonies in 1 cm length shoot were determined in the fourth week after infection.

    8 cultivars in 2002 and 9 cultivars in 2005 displayed notable resistance to fire blight based on one-year data. Based on the coincident data of both years, out of the cultivars collected also from Carpathia ‘Pónyik', and `Sikulai' were found to be resistant and gene sources additional old Hungarian valuable apple genotypes could be selected: `Szabadkai szercsika' and `Tordai piros !davit'. The cultivar `Szemes alma' originated from Visk has proved to be recurrently resistant.

    The number of bacterial cells in shoots of the investigated cultivars correlated with the severity of symptoms. With this method, which was introduced by us earlier, we can screen cultivars displaying weak visible symptoms, which cannot be proposed as a source of resistance because of their latent infection.

  • The effect of Regalis® (prohexadione calcium) on the reduction of fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) severity in apple trees
    61-66.
    Views:
    159

    Due to the lack of effective and non-phytotoxic materials for control of the blossom and shoot blight phase of fire blight in pome fruit trees, two novel control strategies have emerged: shoot growth retardation by bioregulators and applying resistance inducer compounds. Prohexadione calcium (ProCa) is the active ingredient of the bioregulator Regalis® registered in several European countries. The reduction of shoot growth elongation is the most obvious effect of ProCa. Furthermore, it causes significant changes in the spectrum of flavonoids and their phenolic precursors, leading to the considerable reduction of susceptibility to fire blight.

    In Poland, potted one-year-old apple trees of cvs. Gala Must grafted on M.26 and Sampion on M.9 (in 2001) as well as Gala Must on P.60 (in 2002) were treated with Regalis® at a range of concentration of 250, 150 or 150 + 100 ppm, respectively. The inoculation of shoots was made with the strain No.691 of E. amylovora (107 cfu/ml), on the 7th and 21st'day after treatments with Regalis. In Hungary, during the years of 2002 and 2003 one-year-old container grown apple trees of the cvs. Idared/M.9 and Freedom/M.9 were treated with the prohexadione-Ca, the active ingredient of Regalis® 100, 150 or 200 ppm, two weeks before inoculation with the Ea 1 strain of E. amylovora (107 cfu/m1).

    In Poland, the suppression of fire blight in shoots reached up to 80%, depending on concentration and application time of Regalis®. In Hungary, the effect of prohexadione-Ca treatments, determined by the length of necrotic lesion developed, proved to be better than that of streptomycin used for comparison.

  • Effect of three storage methods on fruit decay and brown rot of apple
    55-57.
    Views:
    531

    The aim of our two-year study was to evaluate fruit decay and Monilinia fruit rot in three controlled atmospheres (CA), ultra-low oxygen (ULO) and traditional storage methods on apples for a duration of several months storage period. Four phytopathological treatments were studied under each storage condition: 1) 48 healthy fruit per unit, 2) 48 injured fruit per unit, 3) 47 healthy fruit and 1 brown rotted fruit per unit, and 4) 47 injured fruit and 1 brown rotted fruit per unit. Our results clearly demonstrated that fruit loss during storage is highly influenced by storage conditions and health status of the stored fruits. In the 2005 experiment, the lowest and largest fruit decay occurred under the ULO and traditional storage conditions, respectively (Table 1). The fruit decay was significantly different for the different storage methods. Fruit decay was fully suppressed in ULO storage except in the treatments of injured and injured + 1 brown rotted apple. Under CA and traditional storage conditions, when healthy fruit was stored, fruit decay was significantly lower compared with injured fruit including 1 brown rotted fruits. However, half of the fruit decay was caused by M. fructigena in CA store irrespective to phytopathogenic treatments. In 2006, results were not so consistent on cv. Idared but were not essentially different from the 2005 experiments.

  • Analyses of the pathogen and weather components of disease progress for modeling apple scab epidemics in integrated and organic production systems
    101-106.
    Views:
    160

    The pathogen and weather components of apple scab disease progress were analysed in a three-year study, in two environmental-friendly production systems (organic and integrated) on cvs. `Idared', `Jonica' and 'Mutsu'. Linear regression analyses of transformed disease incidence and severity data and "area under the disease progress curves" (AUDPC) were used for the analysis of the pathogen component. To evaluate the role of the weather component in apple scab epidemic, first, the weekly disease increase was determined at a certain week (n). Weekly disease increase was related to rainfall, relative humidity, Mills' wetness period, temperature and interaction between temperature and relative humidity. Five different periods were used in the analyses: i) week (n-1), ii) week n(n-1), iii) week (n-2), iv) week (n-1)(n-2) and v) week n(n-1)(n-2). In the analyses of the pathogen component, the best transformation function was the logistic one. Regression analyses showed that disease growth rates were higher for disease incidence and for the organic production system than for disease severity and for the integrated production system, respectively. Disease growth rates for leaf incidence were higher than fruit incidence on all the three cultivars. AUDPC values showed great differences in both leaf and fruit incidences among cultivars and between the two production systems. The results the of analyses of the weather component showed that the best relationships between disease increase and weather parameters were found for fruit incidence and leaf incidence in week (n-2) in the organic and integrated production systems, respectively. Results also demonstrated that in week n(n-1) temperature played a more important role in the fungus development than the water parameters (relative humidity, rainfall and leaf wetness). Consequently, infection process is significantly dependent on almost all weather parameters, but during the incubation period the most important weather parameter is the temperature. Results were compared with similar studies and biological interpretations of the analyses are discussed.

  • Study on the micronutrient content of soil and leaf of an organic apple orchard in Eastern Hungary
    7-11.
    Views:
    160

    The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between micronutrient content of soil and leaf in an organic apple orchard. The experiment was carried out at the Experimental Site of the University of Debrecen, Centre of Agricultural Sciences at Pallag in an apple cultivar collection in Eastern Hungary in 2002-2004. The soil sampling was carried out twice per year, at the beginning and the end of the vegetation period in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. The micronutrient content of leaf of seven apple cultivars (Jonagold, Mutsu, Idared, Red Elstar, Egri piros, Reka, Remo) was studied according to phenological phases of apple (April — September) to investigate the dynamism of plant nutrient uptake.

    It was found that results of leaf analysis correlated with the obtained results of soil. According to the data of July, manganese and copper content of leaf is in the 'favourable' but zinc is the 'low' range of nutrient supply category. Moreover, there were significant differences in the micronutrient content of leaf among cultivars. From our results it is evident that more reliable data were obtained for fruit nutrition by determining of micronutrient content of soil and plant and calculate their ratios as well.