Comprehensive evaluation of 20 pomegranate(Punica granatum L.) cultivars in China

Recent investigations on pomegranate products have significantly increased and successfully drawn consumers’ attention to nutritional and medicinal values, promoting the pomegranate industry’s development worldwide. However, little information on pomegranates grown in China is available. Morphological and chemical characterizations of fruits and arils from 20 pomegranate cultivars in six regions of China were investigated. Combined with overall scores by principal component analysis, ‘Yushiliu No. 1’, ‘Taishanhong No. 2’, ‘Tunisia’ and ‘Mollar’ were promising cultivars, and Chinese researchers bred the first two. It was surprising that ‘Mollar’ had bigger fruit size and more aril moisture grown in China than in Spain. Cultivars with higher anthocyanin content in arils were ‘Turkey’, ‘Moyu’ and ‘Red Angel’, which might be used as the source of natural red food colourants. While red husk ‘Hongruyi’ and ‘Hongshuangxi’ with higher vitamin C, aril moisture and lower titratable acid in arils, might also be promising cultivars for further various utilization. Furthermore, the comparison of ‘Tunisia’ fruits from four regions revealed that cultivation locations had more influence on fruit traits than genotypes. Maturity index classification was established for Chinese pomegranate cultivars. Therefore, the results would provide a valuable guide for agricultural cultivation, industrial utilization, and breeding.

Evaluation and Selection of Date Palm Varieties from Seedling Progeny in Saudi Arabia

A survey was conducted in 2011 in the major date growing regions of Saudi Arabia to identify and evaluate date palms with fruit characteristics preferred by the producers and consumers. The regions in the Kingdom surveyed for this purpose were Al-Zulfi, Al-Hassa, Najran, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah and AI-Qassim. Seventy palms from seedlings were initially identified for the study based on the following fruit characteristics, i.e., fruit length, breadth, weight, color, taste, texture, sugar content, external appearance and also the market value. Subsequently, 12 palms （Al-Afiah, Duhiba, Adbah, Aliah, Shamshula, Masifat Al-Asedy, Suwaid, Batlyah, AI-Nassar, Hussan, Sukariyat Al-Zulfi and Al-Hamat） mainly from the Zulfi and Riyadh regions were found to meet the required standards with potential for commercial date farming. Among these, fruits of Adbah had the highest total sugars of 72.9% followed by Duhiba with a total sugar content of 71.9%. Fruit length was maximum （49.1 mm） in the variety Allah, while the fruits of the variety Hussan recorded the maximum weight of 19.5 g. Furthermore, it is pertinent to mention that fruit size of the 12 selected cultivars was generally large and comparable to Majdool, a well-known date palm cultivar of North Africa. The fruits of the selected cultivars were also tasty and can be stored separately.

Primary study on respiration type of lingwu Changzao （Ziziphus. jujube Mill）

Lingwu Changzao （Ziziphus. jujube Mill） is a Ningxia local variety, it has a good table quality despite its short postharvest life. The respiration rate, the weight change of single fruit during growth development and the losing water of postharvest of fruit were studied. The results showed that the curve of fruit growth development was a double sigmoid characteristic. When the surface colour of fruit changed form jade-green to alizarin crimson, the respiration rate tended to fall during a entire growth development of fruit, which showed a fluctuation phenomenon. The respiration rate descended when the surface color changed from coloring to baby red, but after a crimson stage the respiration rate recurred to its original downtrend. With increasing of single fruit weight, phenomenon of respiration climacteric has not happened and the respiration rate curve showed a concavity characteristic at some stages. As a result, there was not a phenomenon of respiration climacteric with a double sigmoid growth development curve characteristic of fruit.

COMPARISON OF POMELO(CITRUS MAXIMA)GROWN IN CHINA AND THAILAND

Pomelo is a member of the genus Citrus that is a key contributor to the breeding of modern citrus cultivars.China is the largest producer of pomelo and one of the top five pomelo exporting countries.Pomelos from Thailand are also well-known for their excellent quality and flavor and are ranked in the top ten export countries.This review introduces pomelo planting locations and conditions in China and Thailand.The characteristics and qualities of some commercial pomelo cultivars in China and Thailand are summarized to introduce them to international consumers and to document their similarities and dissimilarities.Data on bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity are also included for most Chinese and Thai pomelos to highlight how they differ in this aspect because consumers are increasingly interested in healthier foods.In addition,the sensory perception in terms of aroma,flavor,texture and taste attributes,consumer perspective and preferences are discussed.