جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « apricot » در نشریات گروه « کشاورزی »

Due to the high genetic diversity in the apricot population of Iran, the first step in cultivar breeding is the pomological evaluation of this population and the identification of superior genotypes. Therefore, in order to identify superior apricot genotypes in the Karaj climate, the quantitative and qualitative traits of 29 apricot genotypes were evaluated based on the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) during two consecutive years (2016-2017). The results showed a high genetic diversity in the studied apricot population in terms of morphological and pomological characteristics. The highest fruit weight was recorded in the Shahroud -43 (51.57 g) and Shahroud -50 (50.85 g), while the lowest fruit weight was recorded in the Shahroud -42 (15.77 g) and Shahroud -48a (13.90 g) genotypes, respectively. The genotypes Shahroud -50, Shahroud -32, Shahroudi, and Shahroud -15 showed the longest fruit length. In addition, the highest amount of total soluble solids was measured in the Shahroud -13, Nasiri and Ghorban-Maraghe genotypes. Both Moorpark and Shams cultivars also had the highest pH of fruit juice. Based on the obtained results Shahroud -39, Shahroud -50, Shahroud -58, Shahroud -49 and Shahroudi cultivar and genotypes were introduced as suitable genotypes for use as fresh fruits. Also, Shahroud -13, Nasiri, Ghorban-Maraghe, Shahroud -48, Shahroud -37 and Shahroud -43 are suitable genotypes and cultivars for both fruit processing and fresh fruits, due to high sugar content and other desirable characteristics.

In this study some physical and geometrical properties of 11 superior apricot genotypes were determined. These properties such as respiration rate, fruit dimensions, perimeter, surface area, volume, compact factor, geometric mean diameter, projected area, shape factor, circularity, length to width ratio, length to thickness ratio, and length to mass ratio were measured at harvesting moisture content ranging from 75.19 to 87.67 %. Then the correlation among average values of the attributes was performed and the genotypes were classified using principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that all the genotypes had significant differences in terms of all the studied attributes (P<0.01). There was a significant and positive correlation between fruit length and weight and fruit length and moisture content. Fruit shape factor and compression factor showed a positive and significant correlation, while these attributes had negative and significant correlations with circularity. This study showed that Iranian apricot genotypes could be discriminated by differences in their geometrical characteristics using principal component analysis. Based on the PCA results, the first two components account for the most of the variation in the data (91%) and five distinct groups were observed. Overall, the results of this study can be beneficial for the design of equipment for harvesting, transportation, separating, packaging, and processing of apricot fruit.

Iran is the second largest producer of apricots in the world and study of drying methods of this fruit is necessary to reduce the corruptibility. In this study, the effects of ultrasonic pretreatment and thickness of apricot slices on drying kinetics in a hot air dryer were investigated. The effect of ultrasonic pretreatment at three levels of 10, 20 and 30 min and thickness at three levels of 3, 5 and 10 mm on drying time, modeling, effective moisture diffusivity and color changes during apricot drying process were studied. The results indicated that increasing the duration of pretreatment and decreasing the sample thickness increase the drying rate and decrease its duration. In the treated samples, the highest drying time with 300 min was for 10 mm thickness-control samples and the shortest time with 40 min was for 3 mm slices under 30 min ultrasonic pretreatment. Midilli model had the best fitting with the experimental data. 30 min ultrasonic pretreatment for 10 mm thickness samples and the control sample with 3 mm thickness, with 2.62×10-7 and 2.99 × 10-8 m2/s had respectively the highest and lowest effective moisture coefficient. Ultrasonic wave did not affect the color of the samples but the color change index (ΔΕ) for the control samples was occurred due to the chemical reactions such as Millard reaction between sugars and proteins and the formation of Melanoidins.

Identification of superior genotypes within the rich fruit trees germplasm in Iran is an important task. Eighty suitable genotypes were selected within the 600 genotypes that were grown in the Barzok, Kashan region, then 11 genotypes were considered as the superior genotypes. Besides recording the flowering periods of the 80 suitable genotypes, evaluation of the 11 superior genotypes was recorded during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. A 21 days difference at the beginning of flowering was recorded during two years of study. The high variability within the studied genotypes was observed in flower density. The genotype KB1045 with 158 flowers and genotype KB12939 with 60 flowers in 100 cm of shoot showed the biggest and lowest flower density, respectively. The highest fruit set record on 15 days after controlled self-pollination was recorded on genotype KB1045 (53.83 % fruit set) and the lowest was belong to genotype KB4541 (with 0 % fruit set). The microscopic examinations showed well germination of transferred pollens on the self-pollinated stigma. The microscopic fluorescence examination of pollen tube growth in the style at 48, 72, 96, and 120 h after self-pollination showed that very rare pollen tubes reached the ovary, so confirmed the incompatibility of the studied genotypes. Because the studied genotypes were superior in terms of many morphological traits, the obtained results can facilitate further apricot breeding programs on these genotypes.

In order to introduce and promote high quality commercial cultivars in Iran, the apricot breeding program began in 1996 with the aim of achieving the desired cultivars. After conducting preliminary experiments, supplementary evaluations and regional experiments, the Parsi variety was released in 2018. This new variety is obtained from the crossing between Ghermez Shahroud × Nasiri 90 cultivars. The fruit of this variety has standard quality for drying and fresh market properties such as flesh firmness, long post-harvest life, free stone, high TSS (19%), red over color and good taste. On the other hand, the productivity and fruit quality of this variety is higher than most of other local genotypes. Also its flesh firmness of fruit, fresh consumptions and its T.S.S. is more than its parent Ghermez Shahroud cultivar. Parsi is self-incompatible and Ourdubad 90, Haft Baradaran and Jalil cultivars have been determined as the best pollinizers for its pollination. Based on the high quality of fruit and good yield of these varieties, they can be used as a commercial cultivar in the appropriate and well adapted areas along with Parsi cultivar.

Apricot is one of the most economically important fruit trees in temperate regions of Iran and in the world. However, it usually produces low fruit yield, due to its self-incompatibility. In this study, self-incompatibility status and flowering phenological characteristics of 19 five-years-old apricot genotypes, developed from open-pollination of Iranian commercial apricot cultivars; Shahroudi and Shams as female parents, and Italian cultivars; San Castrese, Palumella, Vitillo and Cafona as male parents, were evaluated. Timing of blooming, blooming duration, pollen germination (%), fruit set (%), timing of fruit ripening and some other traits were evaluated and recorded. The results showed that apricot genotypes were significantly different for timing of flowering, pollen germination (%), fruit formation (%) and timing of fruit ripening. Mean comparison showed that the highest pollen germination (%) belonged to genotype 525 (69%) and the lowest to genotype 579 (5.2%). Evaluation of data from controlled pollination and fluorescent microscopy study showed that 13 genotypes 431, 446, 432, 446, 451, 526, 546, 557, 565, 570, 576, 579 and 585 could be considered as self-compatible genotypes. Correlation coefficients showed that there was negative and highly significant relationship (r = -0.63**) in first year and (r = -0.48**) in second year, between timing of flowering and fruit ripening. Also correlation coefficient between pollen germination (%) and initial fruit set (%) was positive and highly significant (r = 0.97**). The results of this study implied that self-compatibility is easily transferred from parents to progenies, and the two identified late flowering genotypes can be used in apricot breeding programs.

Fruit-based drinks is secured antioxidants, carotenoids, vitamins and other nutrients necessary for human health. Apricot juice is especially consumed in the warm days of the year due to high nutritional value. it is a seasonal fruit. In order to prepare the juice, in the first step, apricot fruit juice is extracted by an extractor and then concentrated by evaporation. In other seasons, apricot juice is prepared by using concentrated juice. This study is devoted to examine the possibility of the production of beverage from dried apricot owing to the high costs of concentrate preparation (equipment and energy consumption) along with the reduction of minerals of fresh fruit by removing the parts of the pomace and skin of apricot.

Apricot fruit was purchased from local market and after washing, the fruit was dried with a laboratory oven (70 °C), then used in the formulation of beverage. The effect of formulation parameters, consist of pectin percentage (0.1-0.3 %), the amount of sugar (8-12 %) and amount of citric acid (0.3-0.7 %) on physicochemical (viscosity, Brix, suspended solids and sediment content) and rheological properties of the reconstituted beverage, evaluated. The flow behavior of the samples was investigated by a power law and Herschel-Bulkley models. Response surface methodology base on the rotatable central composite design was used to predict the effect of formulation variables on the qualitative characteristics of the apricot beverage.

The Brix and viscosity of beverage increased with simultaneous increasing of pectin and sugar due to enhancement of concentration of the sample. The analysis of the rheological behavior of the samples demonstrated that the flow index (n) was less than one that the samples exposed a shear-thinning behavior. According to the statistical indices, Herschel-Bulkley model with the highest correlation coefficient was selected as the best model for describing the rheological behavior. Results of process optimization indicated that the best conditions for reaching the minimum viscosity and suspended solids were obtained at levels of 0.1, 0.7 and 8.978 % for pectin, citric acid & sugar respectively: for maximum desirability of 0.885.

The current study was developed to produce beverages from dried apricot flakes. This technique is low-cost compared to the concentration and reconstitution method in the preparation of beverages, also reduces the fruit damage. With respect to the high content of minerals and fibers in the dried slices of apricot compared to the fresh fruit, the prepared beverage also obeys this trend. The results of this investigation indicated that the implementation of natural compounds (citrus pectin) in the formulation of beverages may inhibit the undesirable phase separation process.

The annual production of apricots in the world in 2017 amounted to about 4/257/241 tons, and among these, Iran with a production of 239/712 tons, is ranked fifth after Turkey, Uzbekistan, Italy and Algeria. While in 2010, Iran was the second largest apricot producer in the world after Turkey with a production of 388/049 tons of apricots (Meltam and Mevlut 2020). Apricot fruit has different cultivars that are either eaten fresh such as Germez-Shahrood and Aybatan 90 cultivars or like Maraghei 90, Ordoobad, Nasiri and Asgarabad cultivars are processed and then consumed. Apricot is one of the climacteric fruits and produce a lot of ethylene when the fruit ripens. Apricots are very sensitive to the presence of ethylene. In apricot storage space, the presence of very low amounts of ethylene in the range of 0.03 - 0.1 µL/ L will damage this fruit (Martinez-Romero et al., 2007). Therefore, evacuation of ethylene from the empty packaging space will slow down the aging process and extend the shelf life of apricot (Ozdemir and Floros 2004). Ethylene absorbers are divided into several categories. Natural clays (Zeolite and Bentonite), catalytic oxidants (Potassium permanganate, Potassium dichromate and Palladium), regenerative absorbers (Propylene glycol and Xylene glycol), electron-deficient dienes or trienes (Benzene and Pyridines) and other absorbers such as Active carbon and Aluminum oxide (Gaikwad et al., 2020). Ethylene absorbers have been used to increase the shelf life of climacteric fruits such as apricot, apple, banana, mango, cucumber, kiwifruit, tomato, avocado, persimmon and vegetables such as carrot, potato, and asparagus (Ozdemir and Floros 2004 and Yildirim et al., 2018). In this study, in addition to ethylene adsorbents such as Bentonite, Active carbon, and Potassium permanganate that were commonly used or researched. Straw was used for the first time as an absorber. From ancient times, straw has been used to store fruits such as grapes and watermelons in rural areas of Iran. Therefore, its use in apricot storage was investigated.

Materials used in this study include: apricots with cultivars of Aybatan 90, Maraghei 90, Asgarabad and Germez-Shahrood. Ethylene absorbers include bentonite, active carbon and potassium permanganate were obtained from local markets. To prepare the straw, wheat stalks were crushed using a shredder. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) film was used to cover the packaging. After packing, apricots were stored at 1°C and tested every 4 days for 16 days. The evaluated parameters in this study were TSS, pH and firmness.

According to the obtained results, the amount of TSS will be affected by cultivar and type of ethylene absorbers. The result showed that Maraghehei 90 cultivar had the highest TSS and Aibatan 90 cultivar had the lowest TSS compared to other cultivars. The effect of ethylene absorbers on the TSS showed, treatment without ethylene absorber had the greatest effect on TSS and treatments with ethylene absorber of potassium permanganate and active carbon had the least effect on increasing TSS. Finally, the effect of ethylene adsorbers on TSS was small according to the data of this study. Researchers reported that the differing views exist on the effect of ethylene absorbers on the TSS attribute. Valdes et al., (2009) and Palo and Crisosto (2003) stated that TSS will not be affected by ethylene and ethylene removal will not have a significant effect on this trait. In contrast, Zhou et al., (2006) reported peach and Bregoli et al., (2005) reported that the presence or absence of ethylene would affect the TSS trait. Regarding the pH trait, Maraghei 90 cultivar showed the highest and Aybatan 90 cultivar showed the lowest pH. The pH will increase in relation to increasing of fruit shelf life. Maraghehei 90 cultivar with packaging without ethylene absorber showed the most effect on increasing the pH and Aibatan 90 cultivar with ethylene absorber potassium permanganate showed the least effect on increasing the pH. According to these results, ethylene absorbents had a little or no effect on pH. Researchers have offered different views on the pH attribute as well as the TSS attribute. Overall, the researchers believe that the effect of ethylene absorbers on the pH trait is minor. Ishaq et al., (2009) stated that the use of potassium permanganate slowed the decrease of TSS and decreased the amount of pH in apricot fruits. Emadpour et al., (2015) obtained that the effect of coated potassium permanganate on zeolite nanoparticles on pH changes of peach and nectarine fruits was low. Other fruits such as kiwi (Ramin et al., 2010), tomato (Salamanca et al., 2018) and banana (Tourki et al., 2014) have similar results in comparison with apricot fruits. The results obtained on the firmness property showed that it can be influenced by cultivar, time and ethylene absorber. Maraghehei 90 cultivars had the firmest value and germez-Shahrood cultivar had the softest texture. The result showed that with increasing shelf life, firmness had a decreasing trend. The effect of interaction between cultivar and time on firmness, it was observed that Maraghehei 90 cultivar had a firmer texture on the fourth and eighth days than other treatments. Germez-Shahrood cultivar on the 16th day, had the lowest texture firmness. Based on the data, apricot fruits treated with ethylene absorbers of potassium permanganate and carbon active represented the highest firmness and the effect of straw and bentonite on fruit firmness did not show a significant difference. The use of ethylene absorbent treatments resulted in longer shelf life of apricot fruits, regardless of cultivar. Ethylene absorbent for potassium permanganate reoresents different effects depending on the product and even the cultivar. In general, this absorbent can be delay the processing and related processes of chlorophyll decomposition and color, weight loss and firmness (Alvarez-Hernandez et al. 2019). Climacteric fruits such as nectarines and peaches are sensitive to loss of firmness with increased ethylene production. The use of nano absorbent granules effectively reduced the softening process of tissue (Emadpour et al., 2015). Valdes et al., (2009) reported that fruit firmness is dependent on ethylene content consequently fruit firmness was progressively decreased with increasing ethylene, as well as, the use of ethylene absorbents delays mentioned softening of climacteric fruits. Similar results were obtained for other climacteric fruits such as apple (Sardabi et al., 2014), avocado (Corrêa et al., 2010), banana (Tirgar et al., 2018), blueberry (Wang et al., 2018) and dates (Mortazavi et al., 2015).

Industrial cultivars such as Maraghehei 90 and Asgarabad were more durable than fresh-eaten cultivars such as Germez-Shahrood and Aybatan 90. Industrial cultivars showed higher shelf life due to higher TSS and consequently higher sugar content than fresh-eaten cultivars. Ethylene absorbents had little or no effect on TSS and pH. Firmness was influenced by apricot cultivar, ethylene absorber and time. With increasing time, the value of firmness decreased and using ethylene absorbers regardless of cultivar type reduced the softening. Potassium permanganate showed the greatest effect on fruit firmness and increased the shelf life of apricots compared to other ethylene absorbers. Maraghehei 90 cultivar does not need to use ethylene absorbents to increase its shelf life, because it has an inherently high shelf life due to its high sugar content. Straw has the good potential in order to store apricot fruits, but it requires further research.

In Iran, One of the important goals of apricot breeding programs is to obtain new compatible cultivars with the suitable characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the compatibility of promising genotypes in different parts of the country before releasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adaptability and determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of 35 hybrid and genotypes obtained from the breeding programs in Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center. Matherials and

In this project, 35 selected and promising apricot genotypes obtained at Sahand Horticultural Research Station during the past years through hybridization and selection from native genotypes were evaluated for experiment in 2017-2019. Genotypes were studied in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Measured factors included phenological, morphological and pomological traits. Also, correlations between traits and decomposition into main factors were performed.

The results showed that DM101 genotype was the earliest ripening and Jalil was the late ripening. Genotypes in terms of tree vegetative ability in three groups (strong, medium and weak), branching in three groups (high, medium and low), distribution of buds in trees in three groups (often on spur, often on annual branches, equally on spur and annual branches). Also, The studied genotypes were very different in terms of average fruit weight, so that, Shanli cultivar with 75.50 g and the AC311 with 14.90 g had the highest and lowest average weights, respectively. Genotypes also differed significantly in terms of yield, so that the highest yield (110 kg) was observed in genotype of AD735. The kernel bitterness of most varieties, except for the AD741 and AD546, were sweet. Fruit biochemical characteristics also showed significant changes among genotypes, so that the soluble solids variations ranged from 13.48% in AD650 to 21.95% in AC801 and HS515. Fruit weight had a positive correlation with stone weight (0.73) and kernel weight (0.26) and negative correlation with yield (-0.19) and the number of days from the full bloom to fruit ripening (-0.18). Soluble solids had a negative correlation at 5% level with total acid (-0.21) and a positive correlation with pH (0.40) at 1% level. The results of principal component analysis showed that PC1 factor with 29.44% of total changes expressing pomological characteristics, PC2 factor with 17.00% total changes indicating morphological characteristics, PC3 factor with 9.00% total changes indicating phenological traits and PC4 factor With 8.00% of the total changes, they indicated the chemical properties of the fruit. These four combinations accounted for about 64.94% of the total variation.

In general, Shanli cultivar was superior in fruit size, Jalil in late ripening, good fruit quality and drying ability and Parsi in terms of fruit quality, marketability and excellent colorabitliy are superior to other genotypes.

After peaches and plums, apricots are the third most important product of stone fruits, which is popular among consumers because of having high levels of antioxidants. But it is a climacteric and perishable fruit. Using of essential oils in maintaining the quality of fruits and vegetables has a high potential as an alternative to artificial preservatives dangerous to health. Recent advances in nanotechnology, and particularly nano encapsulation of essential oils, is able to overcome existing difficulties.so a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design on apricots in three replications to investigate the effect of nano encapsulated rosemary on physico-chemical properties of fruit during storage.Results showed the amount of fresh and dry weight as well as the percentage of dry matter of fruit decreased during storage and it was more in control fruits than treated ones. The amount of carotenoids and anthocyanins increased rapidly in control fruits compared to treated fruits from the 20th day of storage. the highest amount of phenols are related to harvest day and had a decreasing trend until the end of the storage, so that fruits treated with 1000 mg / L nano encapsulated rosemary had more phenol than the control and other treatments. They also had the highest amount of vitamin C and total carbohydrates at the end of storage, despite their decreasing trend. Fruits treated with rosemary nano encapsulated rosemary had higher antioxidant activity than control at the end of storage. During storage the amount of hydrogen peroxide and the activity of enzymes guaiacol peroxidase and superoxide dismutase increased. At the end of storage period, fruits treated with 1000 mg / L nano encapsulated rosemary had the lowest amount of hydrogen peroxide and the highest activity of enzymes guaiacol peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, while this trend was opposite in controls.

The cultivar and amount of apricot production in the East Azarbaijan province is about 28% of the total country of Iran and 30.2% of the total apricot is produced in Iran. Due to the perishable nature of apricot, it cannot be kept for more than 2-3 days at room temperature and for several days at low temperature conditions. In Iran, about one-third of horticultural and crop products are lost and destroyed annually. Important factors in increasing postharvest losses of agricultural products can be inappropriately picked up, unpurchased shipping, lack of proper keeping and packaging, and so on. This research was carried out with the aim of developing research on apricot, as well as the development of its export, by increasing the shelf life of apricot. In food packaging, the use of appropriate packaging materials, and minimizing waste and the provision of healthier and safer food products have always been considered. Various packaged packaging technologies have been developed to improve the quality and health of foods. Active packaging technologies provide new opportunities for the food industry. In recent years, the effect of modified atmosphere has been studied on the physiological, biochemical and qualitative properties of fruits and vegetables. One of the physiological effects of modified atmospheres on fruit metabolism is the reduction of respiratory rate during storage, which includes a decrease in carbohydrate metabolism, CO2 production, O2 consumption, and heat release. In climacteric fruits such as apricots, the CO2-rich atmosphere and low O2 levels reduce ethylene production. Therefore, the use of MA can increase the length of storage time of fruits. High concentrations of CO2 are effective in O2 consumption. They act as inhibitors of ethylene activity and prevent ethylene synthesis in some fruits such as apricots, avocados, pears, figs and bananas.

the study focused on reduce the production of ethylene and increase the shelf life of apricot fruit by studying the modified atmosphere packaging technology. In this project, apricot fruits of “Red Shahroud” cultivar were obtained from “Sahand Gardening Research Station of East Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center”. Packaging film of polypropylene was prepared for packing apricot fruits with 0.2 and 0.4 mm thickness from a local store. For gas injection operations, capsules containing oxygen and carbon dioxide gases (food grade) were used. The packets space were first with vacant evacuated, and then gases injected. After the gas was injected, the packages were stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 1°C (±0.5) and cold air temperatures were kept at about 1 m/s, and every four days, tests were completed that lasted a total of 16 days. The evaluated parameters in this study were TSS, pH, firmness and EC. The MC-20181 model refract meter was used to measure TSS. For pH test, the pH meter of the metrohm-691 model was used. The texture analyser of Hounsfield-H5KS was used to measure the firmness of the apricot fruit. The EC meter ELMETRON CC 505 with an accuracy of 0.1 was used to measure EC. The experimental design was a split plot based on a completely randomized design including two plots and three replications. The main plot consisted of time in four levels (fourth day, eighth day, twelfth day, and sixteenth day). Sub plots was include the type of gas mixture used with different coatings in six levels (3% O2 + 5% CO2 with polypropylene film thickness 0.2 mm, 3% O2 + 10% CO2 with polypropylene film thickness 0.2 mm, 3% O2 + 5% CO2 with polypropylene film thickness 0.4 mm, 3% O2 + 10% CO2 with polypropylene film thickness 0.4 mm, Packaging only with polypropylene cover with thickness of 0.2 mm, Packaging only with polypropylene cover with thickness of 0.4 mm).

by increasing the storage time, the TSS was increasing. The highest amount of TSS on the 16th day was observed in polypropylene wrap with 0.2 and 0.4 mm thickness without gas composition. TSS represents the presence of small molecules such as glucose, fructose, maltose and some organic acids. By increasing the storage time of fruits, the TSS values will be increased due to the large conversion of molecules such as starch into small molecules such as glucose, maltose and dextrin, as well as reducing the moisture content of the product. On the other hand, due to reduced physiological activity of the fruit at low temperatures, the trend of the TSS will slow down. With increasing storage time, pH increased as a result of the decreasing trend of acidity. Organic acids can be considered as a source of energy stored in fruits, which decrease as a result of increased metabolism activity due to respiration or conversion to sugars. Treatment with only 0.2 mm thick PP coating showed the most effect on apricot fruit acidity, and the rest of the treatments showed an almost identical effect on acidity reduction. The treatment of 3% O2 + 10% CO2 under the cover of PP with a thickness of 0.4 mm showed the highest acidity. With increasing maintenance time, the firmness shows a downward trend. Treatment with 3% O2 + 10% CO2 covered by PP with thickness of 0.4 mm resulted in the highest firmness in apricot fruit compared to other treatments and the least firmness in non-gaseous treatment and only with a thickness of 0.2 mm was observed. With increasing storage time, the EC value also increased, but the effect of different gas constituents with different coatings and the time interaction effect with different gas mixtures with different coatings is not significant. EC shows variations in the resistance or electrical capacity that occurs as a result of changes in the concentration of soluble electrolytes when they are matured in flesh. The EC increases during fruit ripening. The incremental trend of EC extract of fruit during storage is indicative of cation leakage from the cytoplasmic membrane of fruit tissue cells, which shows the degradation of the cell membrane. This process is attributed to the ability of the pectin’s to dissolve and hydrolyse the median wall of the cell. The activity of the polygalacturonase enzyme leads to cell wall pectin hydrolysis, which seems to provide the ability to dissolve the pectin. While the pectin methyl ester enzyme regulates the attachment of cations to the cell wall and the rapid action of other cell wall hydrolysates. Therefore, cations play a key role in enzymatic activity and fruit maturity regulation.

the results showed that with increasing the of storage time, all the traits under test, namely, TSS, pH and EC, increased and fruit firmness decreased. From the point of view of the treatments used, the of type of gas mixture with different films, 3% O2 + 10% CO2 with polypropylene film thickness 0.4 mm treatments is desirable because of increased shelf life of apricot approximately 3 times. Film thickness did not significantly affect the shelf life of apricot fruit.

Apricot fruit is a carbohydrate-rich commodity and is a good source of fibers, essential minerals, vitamins and organic acids. It is also rich in bioactive compounds i.e. polyphenols and carotenoids that have certain antioxidant character in biological system. It is consumed in fresh, dried and frozen forms or used for the preparation of jam, juices, nectars and extruded products. Therefore, apricot being an attractive nutritious fruit is appreciated by consumers and farmers all over the world and has gained great economic importance over the years. Apricot is a climacteric fruit that presents a high respiratory and metabolic rate and, among stone fruits, is the one that presents the highest ethylene emission. One of the major problems of apricots is the rapid postharvest softening, which limits its storability and marketability. These features results that, at the postharvest, have an extremely short shelf-life of only 1-2 weeks in the cold storage, and pass quickly from maturity to overripe. One of the major problems of apricots is the rapid postharvest softening, which limits its storability and marketability. For this reason, to have acceptable quality fruits, they must be stored with adequate techniques to limit the post-harvest losses. As apricot production and export increase, demands for practical methods of post-harvest quality retention are necessary to improve the post-harvest quality of apricots during postharvest life. Several pre- and postharvest technologies have been used to control postharvest losses, but the use of chemicals as fungicides is restricted in most countries and consumers demand agricultural commodities without pesticide residues. Consumers around the world demand for food of high-quality, without chemical preservatives, and extended shelf life. Therefore, an increased effort has been made to develop new natural preservatives and antimicrobials. Many storage techniques have been developed to extend the marketing distances and holding periods for commodities after harvest. Among these technologies, edible coatings are traditionally used to improve food appearance and preservation. Edible coatings are thin layers of edible material applied to the product surface in addition to or as a replacement for natural protective waxy coatings and provide a barrier to moisture, oxygen and solute movement. They are applied directly on the food surface by dipping, spraying or brushing. Edible coatings are used to create a modified atmosphere and to reduce weight loss during transport and storage. In fact, the barrier characteristics of gas exchange for films and coatings are the subjects of much recent interest. Recently, researchers have developed a gel based on Aloe vera that prolongs the conservation of fresh fruits. This gel is tasteless, colorless and odorless. This natural product is a safe and environmental friendly alternative to synthetic preservatives such as sulfur dioxide. This gel operates through a combination of mechanics, forming a protective layer against the oxygen and moisture of the air and inhibiting the action of micro-organisms that cause food-borne illnesses through its various antibacterial and antifungal compounds. Aloe vera gel-based edible coatings have been shown to prevent moisture and firmness losses, control respiratory rate and delay ripening process slow oxidative browning and reduce microorganism proliferation in fruits. Present study was conducted to evaluate the increasing of apricot storage time, introducing suitable cultivars based on Aloe vera gel coating, effects of Aloe vera gel on the qualitative characteristics of fruit and obtain the optimum concentration of Aloe vera gel required to coating apricot fruits.

Therefore, a factorial experiment was carried out based on a completely randomized design with four replications. The evaluated factors including cultivars “Dorosht-e Malayer” and “Ghermez-e Shahrood”, concentrations of Aloe vera gel [control (non-gel coating fruits), 25% and 33%] and storage time [0 (Harvest), 7, 14 and 21 d)]. Moreover, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), fruit firmness, pH, percentage of weight loss, antioxidant activity and vitamin C content were determined during storage time.

The results showed that treatment of apricot fruits with Aloe vera gel, especially at 33% concentration, significantly enhanced vitamin C content, titrable acidity, antioxidant capacity and improved tissue firmness, but also reduced soluble solids, weight loss and pH content. Moreover, it was found that vitamin C content, titratable acidity and fruit tissue firmness significantly decreased during storage time, while soluble solids content, weight loss and antioxidant capacity significantly increased. Among the cultivars, “Ghermez-e Shahrood” cultivar had higher soluble solids content, weight loss, pH and antioxidant capacity during storage time, whereas “Dorosht-e Malayer” cultivar had higher titrable acidity, tissue firmness and vitamin C at the end of storage time. double and triple interaction effects of evaluated factors significantly affected all characteristics, except in antioxidant activity, where just storage time had a significant effect. It was found that the highest vitamin C content in “Dorosht-e Malayer” and “Ghermez-e Shahrood” was obtained at the end of the second week in coated fruits with 33% of Aloe vera gel. TSS content in fruits of “Dorosht-e Malayer” cultivar that coated with 25% and 33% of Aloe vera gel was less than “Ghermez-e Shahrood” cultivar, while Aloe vera gel had no significant effect on TSS content in “Ghermez-e Shahrood” cultivar. Aloe vera gel had no defined pattern on TA concentration but generally, “Dorosht-e Malayer” fruits had higher TA concentration comparing “Ghermez-e Shahrood” fruits During the storage time, the fruit weight loss and firmness were higher in “Ghermez-e Shahrood” as compared with “Dorosht-e Malayer”, however, in the both evaluated cultivars, treatment with Aloe vera gel had a significant positive effect to controlling of fruit weight loss and firmness. Furthermore, coating with Aloe vera gel improved the antioxidant capacity in both evaluated cultivars.

Overall, according to the results, it can be concluded that as compared with “Ghermez-e Shahrood” cultivar, “Dorosht-e Malayer” cultivar showed better quality based on the evaluated parameters and maintained its quality for a longer time. As a conclusion, considering the positive effects of Aloe vera gel, it can be in order to increase the shelf-life and maintaining the quality of apricot fruits.

Iran is the fourth largest apricot producer in the world. It is important to know the level of genetic diversity in breeding programs. Local genotypes are important because they are environmentally friendly and have beneficial genes in breeding programs. Therefore, this study was conducted with the main purpose to investigate the characteristics of phenology, morphology and pomology of six promising apricot genotypes in order to determine the best genotypes in Khorasan Razavi Province condition.

This study was conducted to evaluate characteristics of  six selected genotypes (‘190’, ‘269’, ‘414’, ‘464’, ‘390’ and ‘177’) compared to ‘Ordubad-90’ (as a control) with the aim of assessing their compatibility in Khorasan Razavi climatic conditions in a randomized complete block design with three replications, at Golmakan Research Station during the 2017-2019. These genotypes were selected randomly from the Azerbaijan apricot populations around 15 years ago and were undergoing preliminary studies in the main habitat and collecting and experimental orchards. During the research period, all genotypes were completely uniform in terms of environmental conditions and garden management. Quantitative analysis of variance was performed using SPSS software and comparison of means using Duncan's multiple range test at a probability level of 1%.

Results showed that significant differences between genotypes in terms of flowering dates and fruit ripening. So that, Genotypes of ‘269’ were the earliest (19 March) and ‘190’ were the most late flowering (27 March) and, in the terms of fruit ripening time, genotype of ‘177’ were the earliest (third decade of May) and genotype of ‘190’ were the most late (second decade of July). Also, genotype of ‘414’ had the highest height (302.57 cm), crown width (278.03 cm), trunk cross section (42.75 cm2), annual vegetative growth (58.98 cm) and size index (8.76 m). These results are consistent with the findings of Nejatian and Arzani (2002) and Mesbahi et al. (2014) on a relatively significant diversity in the morphological characteristics of the studied genotypes. There was direct correlation between fruit size and stone size, so that, the highest fruit weight (65 g), stone weight (3.49 g) and kernel weight (1.93 g) was in genotype of ‘414’. This result is agreement with Asma and Ozturk (2005) who reported that there are direct correlation among fruit weight, stone weight and kernel weight in the studied apricot genotypes in Turkey. The highest acidity content (0.67%) belonged to genotype of ‘177’, the highest pH (4.97) was in genotype of ‘390’ and the highest yield (20.66 kg) was in genotype of ‘190’. The obtained results are consistent with the results of Rahnemoon et al. (2005) on the existence of a significant difference between the mean percentage of sugar and the content of total organic acids. Accordingly, with the increase of soluble solids during fruit ripening, the amount of total acid decreased, which is consistent with the results of Asma and Ozturk (2005). Also, there was a significant negative correlation between flowering time and yield at the level of 1% (-0.704). These results are consistent with the findings of Piir et al. (2017).The results of principal component analysis showed that PC1 factor with 47.06% of the total changes indicates fruit weight, stone weight and core weight, which can be called the factor of pomological traits. PC2 factor with 19.63% of the total changes indicates height, crown width and trunk cross section, which can be called the factor of morphological traits. PC3 factor with 15.14% of the total changes indicates the chemical properties of the fruit. The PC4 factor with 7.62% of the total changes indicates the time of beginning of flowering, the number of days from the full blooming stage to fruit ripening and yield, which can be called the factor of phenological traits. These four combinations accounted for about 89.45% of the total variation, and the other variations included a slight variation. These results are comparable to the results of Janatizadeh et al. (2011) regarding cultivars in Shahroud city.

Genotype of ‘177’ is recommended because of its early ripening. Also, genotype of ‘144’ due to large fruit size, genotype of ‘190’ due to late ripening and high yield compared to ‘Ordubad-90’ (control) are recommended.

The purpose of this descriptive-correlational research was to explain the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the formation of the apricot value chain in Mahneshan Township. The statistical population of the study was apricot growers of central region in Mahneshan connty (N=320). The sample size determined via the Cochran formula (n=118). The sampling method was simple random sampling. The research instrument was a researcher-designed questionnaire. Content validity of the questionnaire verified by the panel of experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by calculating the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in the desirable range (greater than 0.7). Descriptive results showed that the mean for components of the ICTs including information resources, resource usage level, and accessibility level were 1.687, 1.188, and 1.957, respectively. Furthermore, the calculated mean value for apricot value chain was obtained 1.957 out of 6. Findings of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that this variable could explain about 67% of the variation of apricot value chain formation in Mahneshan county. The two components of access rate and the use of resources with the values of 0.37 and 0.25, had the highest and lowest effect on the formation of apricot value chain, respectivel.

Apricot is a climacteric fruit with high respiration rate, which ripen quickly during the postharvest stage and has a short shelf life. Therefore, the use of environmentally friendly compounds for delaying the ripening process is one of the safe methods for extending the shelf life and reducing the postharvest losses of this fruit. Hence, the effect of some chemical treatments on quality and shelf life of apricot fruit cultivar ‘Shahroudi’ was carried out in a completely randomized design with seven treatments and four replications. The treatments were fruit immersion in individual or combination solutions of salicylic acid, oxalic acid and nitric oxide at concentrations of 2, 2 and 1 mM, respectively. The fruits were then packed and transferred to 2 °C with relative humidity of about 85 ± 5%. After 4 weeks of storage, their chemical, sensorial and qualitative properties were evaluated. The results showed that the highest fruit firmness was obtained in salicylic acid (11.46N) and nitric oxide treatment (9.85N). Soluble solids content had the highest values in salicylic acid and combined treatments, respectively. In terms of organoleptic evaluation, salicylic acid and nitric oxide treatments significantly preserved the texture, taste and appearance of the fruits. The highest shelf life was observed in salicylic acid (27.5 days) and nitric oxide (25.5 days) treated fruits, while it was only 14 days in control. In general, it can be concluded that salicylic acid and nitric oxide were the best treatments.

Self-incompatibility in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) trees and their need for pollination with other cultivars results in unsustainable yield and loss of traditional production. Study of pollen compatibility among different cultivars is needed to guarantee of fertility outcome and sustainable fruit production in new apricot cultivars. In current work, the final fruit set was studied for apricot promising genotypes after controlled cross-pollination in the field conditions in two successive years. Also, their (in) compatibility statues was evaluated by tracking of pollen tube growth through the ovary by fluorescent microscopy approach. The presence of at least one growing pollen tube inside the ovary 96 h after pollination was considered as the sign of compatibility, but block of pollen tube growth through the style was considered as the sign of incompatibility between pollinizer and recipient genotypes. According to our data, all of pollinizers include of GER, Aybatan, HB190, NM177 and KOSH269 were compatible with recipient genotypes. However, the most percentage of final fruit set in Ordoubad90 was achieved when it was pollinated with NM177 and Aybatan pollinizers, in ASG and AD503 genotypes were achieved when they were pollinated with Aybatan and GER pollinizers, and finally in AD740 genotype was achieved when it was pollinated with NM177, Aybatan and GER pollinizers. Additionally, AD503 had more (47% fruit set) but Ordoubad90 had less (23% fruit set) fertility potential among recipient genotypes. Also, microscopic observations confirmed the results of final fruit set following controlled cross-pollination in the field.

One of the oldest methods for the preservation of food is drying, which consists in removing water from the product in order to provide microbiological safety and the most popular drying method includes convection (Hassan-Beygi 2009; Salehi et al. 2014). One of the ways to shorten the drying time is to supply heat by infrared radiation (IR). Application of infrared heating to food drying is recently of special interest because of the progress in radiator construction. Their efficiency is between 80% and 90%, the emitted radiation is in narrow wavelength range and they are miniaturized (Pan et al. 2008; Salehi et al. 2014). Modeling of agricultural products drying is one of the best ways to controlling the drying time and conditions. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are information processing networks constituting a set of highly interconnected neurons arranged in multiple layers that can be trained to fit one or more dependent variables to any degree of accuracy using a set of independent variables as inputs. ANNs were successfully applied to problems from various areas including business, medical and industrial fields. Once the ANN is trained using experimental data, it can be used in a purely predictive mode to calculate the dependent variable(s) for any values of input variables. Process modeling is an area where ANNs of various configurations and structures have been considered as alternative modeling techniques, particularly in cases where reliable mechanistic models cannot be obtained. Genetic algorithm (GA) optimization technique can be used to overcome this inherent limitation of ANN. GA are search techniques for an optimal value, mimicking the mechanism of biological evolution. They have a high ability to find an optimal value (global optimal value or at least near global one) of a complex objective function, without falling into local optima. The mathematical chromosomes could be operated upon by quasi genetic operations of selection, crossover, and mutation. These three parameters are repeated until desired convergence on optimal or near-optimal of the solutions is achieved. Mutation is a genetic operator that alters one or more gene values in a chromosome from its initial state. Mutation enhances the GA ability by intermittently injecting a random point in order to better search the entire parameter space, which allows the GA to possibly escape from local optima. This can result in entirely new gene values being added to the gene pool. With these new gene values, the GA may be able to arrive at a better solution than was previously possible (Ramzi et al. 2015; Salehi and Razavi 2016). Fresh apricots were obtained from market. Slices of apricot with 5 mm thickness were prepared with the aid of a steel cutter and were immediately placed into the dryer. The apricot slices were dried in an infrared dryer. In this study, for drying and increasing the shelf life of apricot, infrared radiation method was used. The effect of infrared lamp power at three levels 150, 250 and 375 watts, the distance of lamp from sample at three levels 5, 7.5 and 10 cm and time of 160 minute on drying of apricot were examined. Modeling of process was done with the genetic algorithm–artificial neural network (GA-ANN) method with 3 inputs (lamp power, distance and time) and 1 output (weight loss). During drying, radiation properties of the material are changing due to decreasing water content. As a consequence, its reflectivity increases and the absorptivity decrease. Generally, solid materials absorb infrared radiation in a thin surface layer (Pan et al 2008). The effects of infrared power and distance on the moisture content of apricot slices are shown in Figures 3 and 5. As expected, the moisture content was decreased by increasing the power because of the
increased temperature and heat transfer gradient between the air and samples. The weight loss of apricot samples were 36.34, 52.00 and 87.90 min at 150, 250 and 375 W, respectively (32 min and 10 cm). In conclusion, experimental results showed that the infrared power has a significant effect on the evolution of moisture content. Hence, drying of thin layers seems to be more efficient at far-infrared radiation, while drying of thicker bodies should give better results at near-infrared radiation (Nowak and Lewicki, 2004). The weight loss reduced from 87.43 to 78.26 % when the distance was increased from 5 to 10 cm (150 W and 98 min).
GA-ANN model was developed for modeling of apricot weight loss during drying with infrared dryer. In this study, ANN with 1–30 neurons was trained using GA to find the optimal network configuration. It was found that ANN with 7 neurons in one hidden layer could predict apricot weight loss with high correlation coefficient and low NMSE (0.9987, 0.0026, respectively). The prediction efficiency of the GA-ANN model for unseen data is presented in Fig. 7. The calculated correlation coefficient value for estimation of apricot weight loss show high correlation between predicted and experimental values. Table 3 illustrates the weights and bias values of optimized network, which could be applied in a computer program for estimation of apricot weight loss during drying with infrared dryer. The results showed that an acceptable agreement between the predicted and experimental data can be achieved using GA–ANN model. The results of infrared drying of apricot showed that with increasing in lamp power and decreasing in sample distance from the heat source, the drying rate was increased. The GA-ANN modeling results showed a network with 7 neurons in 1 hidden layer with using sigmoid activation function can be predicting the weight loss in apricot drying by infrared method with correlation coefficient equal to 0.9987 and mean squared error equal to 1.9215. Sensitivity analysis results by optimum ANN showed the drying time was the most sensitive factor to control the weight loss of apricot slides.