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Horticulturae
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More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in...
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More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in Defining Fruit Quality

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Postharvest Biology, Quality, Safety, and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2023) | Viewed by 8554

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Isabel Lara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Postharvest Unit, University of Lleida - AGROTÈCNIO-CERCA Center, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Interests: cuticle; cell wall; flavor; fruit ripening; fruit quality; postharvest biology and technology of fruit; fruit cuticles as modulators of post harvest quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Brian Farneti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy
Interests: fruit quality; postharvest; phenotyping; fruit physiology; metabolomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruit commodities are commercially important world-wide. The fleshy, edible tissues of the fruit are surrounded by the skin, which represents its outer surface and consists of the cuticle as well as epidermal, subepidermal, and hypodermal layers.

Historically, the role of the skin in determining fruit quality has been considered to be primarily linked to appearance and hence to purchase decision, and therefore many efforts have been invested in improving fruit colour and in reducing the incidence of superficial defects. However, the roles of fruit skin in defining fruit quality reach far beyond colour and overall appearance. Many quality traits of fruit are actually impacted or modulated by skin. Colour is the most noticeable of these traits, but skin properties affect many other quality aspects as well, including odour and aroma, susceptibility to pests and rots, proneness to physiological disorders (scald, cracking, russeting, etc.), water loss, mechanical properties, health-promoting properties, and even sanitary quality, as skin features may influence the retention of pesticide or agrochemical residues.

The role of fruit skin as a determinant of fruit quality hence deserves a closer examination. This Special Issue welcomes original research and review articles that provide insights into all these aspects. The scope of submission includes all aspects of fruit surface which relate to the organoleptic, commercial, nutritional, and sanitary quality of produce.

Prof. Dr. Isabel Lara Ayala
Dr. Brian Farneti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aroma
  • colour
  • fruit
  • health-promoting properties
  • mechanical properties
  • pathology
  • quality
  • skin
  • surface disorders
  • water loss

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 1358 KiB  
Article
Fruit Cuticle Composition in ‘Arbequina’ Olive: Time–Course Changes along On-Tree Ripening under Irrigated and Rain-Fed Conditions
by Clara Diarte, Anna Iglesias, Jordi Graell and Isabel Lara
Horticulturae 2023, 9(3), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9030394 - 17 Mar 2023
Viewed by 963
Abstract
Olive (Olea europaea L.) fruit and derived products play a pivotal role in the Mediterranean diet, to which they contribute their gastronomic value and their health-promoting properties. The fruit cuticle constitutes the interface between the plant and the surrounding environment, and it [...] Read more.
Olive (Olea europaea L.) fruit and derived products play a pivotal role in the Mediterranean diet, to which they contribute their gastronomic value and their health-promoting properties. The fruit cuticle constitutes the interface between the plant and the surrounding environment, and it modulates relevant traits such as water loss, mechanical resistance, and susceptibility to pests and rots. Hence, a better knowledge of fruit cuticle properties and the impact thereupon of agronomic factors could help improving olive grove management. In this work, time–course changes in fruit cuticle yields and composition were assessed during the on-tree ripening of ‘Arbequina’ olives obtained from irrigated or rain-fed trees grown at a commercial grove located in El Soleràs (Catalonia, Spain), where low annual rainfall occur together with cold winters and hot dry summers. Significantly higher wax contents were observed for rain-fed than for irrigated fruits, both in relative (% over total cuticle) and in absolute terms (from 231 to 840 µg cm−2 and from 212 to 560 µg cm−2, respectively, contingent upon the maturity stage), in agreement with their proposed role as a barrier against water loss. Compositional differences in cuticular waxes and in cutin monomers were also detected between irrigated and rain-fed olives, with major changes involving significantly higher loads per surface area of triterpenoids and ω-hydroxy fatty acids in the latter. In contrast to the load and composition of cuticular wax, no apparent impact of irrigation was observed on either total cuticle yields or cuticle thickness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in Defining Fruit Quality)
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14 pages, 1337 KiB  
Article
Are Fruit Surface Differences in Two Blueberry Cultivars Major Drivers of Contrasting Postharvest Dynamics?
by Claudia Moggia, Isabel Lara, Jordi Graell, Guillermo Schmeda-Hirschmann, Samanta Thomas-Valdés and Gustavo A. Lobos
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070607 - 05 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1673
Abstract
Fresh blueberries are prone to softening and dehydration during postharvest, which limits their competitiveness when reaching the final markets. Commercial cultivars ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ exhibit contrasting softening patterns. Although ‘Duke’ berries usually show higher firmness levels at harvest as compared to ‘Brigitta’, they [...] Read more.
Fresh blueberries are prone to softening and dehydration during postharvest, which limits their competitiveness when reaching the final markets. Commercial cultivars ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ exhibit contrasting softening patterns. Although ‘Duke’ berries usually show higher firmness levels at harvest as compared to ‘Brigitta’, they display higher softening and weight loss rates after cold storage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical changes and modifications in cuticle composition of ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ blueberries across five developmental stages: green (G), 25 and 50% pink (25P, 50P), and 75 and 100% blue (75B, 100B), to determine those characters with the most influence on their postharvest behavior. For each developmental stage, maturity parameters, respiration, and ethylene production rates were assessed, and cuticular wax and cutin were analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that ‘Duke’ berries were characterized by higher respiration and ethylene production rates, while ‘Brigitta’ showed higher contents of oleanolic acid and α-amyrin over total waxes. The results suggest that larger surface/volume ratios and higher amounts of ursolic acid and lupeol in ripe fruit may underlie higher weight and firmness loss rates of ‘Duke’ berries as compared to ‘Brigitta’. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in Defining Fruit Quality)
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12 pages, 3104 KiB  
Article
Controlled Atmosphere Storage Alleviates Hass Avocado Black Spot Disorder
by Claudia Fuentealba, Juan Vidal, Claudio Zulueta, Excequel Ponce, Virgilio Uarrota, Bruno G. Defilippi and Romina Pedreschi
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050369 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2285
Abstract
As it was previously reported, black spot development in the skin of Hass avocado has been related to a decreased antioxidant defense system. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different postharvest storage conditions on controlling black spot development [...] Read more.
As it was previously reported, black spot development in the skin of Hass avocado has been related to a decreased antioxidant defense system. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different postharvest storage conditions on controlling black spot development targeting their effect on the antioxidant system (non-enzymatic and enzymatic) of the skin. Four postharvest treatments (T1: regular air storage (RA) at 5 °C for 40 d; T2: controlled atmosphere storage (CA) of 4 kPa O2 and 6 kPa CO2 at 5 °C for 40 d; T3: 10 d RA + 30 d CA and T4: 5 µM methyl jasmonate (MeJA) for 30 s + 10 RA + 30 d CA) were tested on controlling black spot incidence in fruit from six orchards from different agroclimatic zones and harvests. Then, on two selected orchards and harvests, the evolution of total phenolics (TPC), antioxidant capacity (AC) and antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL)) was monitored. Results revealed that incidence of black spot disorder was not associated to an agroclimatic zone and harvest stage. Immediate application of CA (T2) controlled black spot development during prolonged storage (40 d) and under these conditions TPC content remained higher compared to the other treatments. No clear role of CAT, PPO, SOD, POD and PAL on controlling black spot was observed. The results obtained are of value for the Hass avocado supply chain since a clear performance of CA was evidenced that will result in reduction of postharvest losses associated to this problem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in Defining Fruit Quality)
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Review

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24 pages, 998 KiB  
Review
Russeting of Fruits: Etiology and Management
by Andreas Winkler, Thomas Athoo and Moritz Knoche
Horticulturae 2022, 8(3), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030231 - 08 Mar 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6269
Abstract
The skin of a fruit protects the vulnerable, nutrient-rich flesh and seed(s) within from the hostile environment. It is also responsible for the fruit’s appearance. In many fruitcrop species, russeting compromises fruit appearance and thus commercial value. Here, we review the literature on [...] Read more.
The skin of a fruit protects the vulnerable, nutrient-rich flesh and seed(s) within from the hostile environment. It is also responsible for the fruit’s appearance. In many fruitcrop species, russeting compromises fruit appearance and thus commercial value. Here, we review the literature on fruit russeting, focusing on the factors and mechanisms that induce it and on the management and breeding strategies that may reduce it. Compared with a primary fruit skin, which is usually distinctively colored and shiny, a secondary fruit skin is reddish-brown, dull and slightly rough to the touch (i.e., russeted). This secondary skin (periderm) comprises phellem cells with suberized cell walls, a phellogen and a phelloderm. Russeted (secondary) fruit skins have similar mechanical properties to non-russeted (primary) ones but are more plastic. However, russeted fruit skins are more permeable to water vapor, so russeted fruits suffer higher postharvest water loss, reduced shine, increased shrivel and reduced packed weight (most fruit is sold per kg). Orchard factors that induce russeting include expansion-growth-induced strain, surface wetness, mechanical damage, freezing temperatures, some pests and diseases and some agrochemicals. All these probably act via an increased incidence of cuticular microcracking as a result of local concentrations of mechanical stress. Microcracking impairs the cuticle’s barrier properties. Potential triggers of russeting (the development of a periderm), consequent on cuticular microcracking, include locally high concentrations of O2, lower concentrations of CO2 and more negative water potentials. Horticulturists sometimes spray gibberellins, cytokinins or boron to reduce russeting. Bagging fruit (to exclude surface moisture) is also reportedly effective. From a breeding perspective, genotypes having small and more uniform-sized epidermal cells are judged less likely to be susceptible to russeting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue More than a Wrap: The Role of Fruit Skin in Defining Fruit Quality)
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